User:A Helpful Little Gnome/Sandbox899: Difference between revisions
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* [[First Aid Kits]] can be used on other players, and [[Dna_extractor#DNA_Extractor|DNA Extractors]] on zombies. Survivors have begun tagging buildings with [[graffiti|messages]], as well as [[construction|barricading]] them. Survivors have gotten [[body building|tougher]]. | * [[First Aid Kits]] can be used on other players, and [[Dna_extractor#DNA_Extractor|DNA Extractors]] on zombies. Survivors have begun tagging buildings with [[graffiti|messages]], as well as [[construction|barricading]] them. Survivors have gotten [[body building|tougher]]. | ||
* Players may begin the game as a [[corpse]]. | * Players may begin the game as a [[corpse]]. | ||
* New zombies move more slowly, requiring 2AP without the [[Lurching Gait]] skill. They also | * New zombies move more slowly, requiring 2AP without the [[Lurching Gait]] skill. They also forget how to [[Zombie_Skills/Memories_of_Life|open doors]]. | ||
* [[Dead bodies]] can now be dumped out of buildings. Experienced survivors are [[Zombie Hunter|hunting zombies]]. All survivors are also getting better at hitting zombies, which now need 10 AP to stand up again. | * [[Dead bodies]] can now be dumped out of buildings. Experienced survivors are [[Zombie Hunter|hunting zombies]]. All survivors are also getting better at hitting zombies, which now need 10 AP to stand up again. | ||
* Players now have a [[contacts|contact list]]. Headshots reduce some XP, instead of removing all of it. | * Players now have a [[contacts|contact list]]. Headshots reduce some XP, instead of removing all of it. | ||
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| '''June 16th.''' Critically-wounded | | '''June 16th.''' Critically-wounded survivors are now at risk of being [[feeding Drag|dragged]] from buildings by hungry zombies. Ransacked buildings must now be cleared of zombies before survivors can barricade them. '''July 3rd.''' Following in the footsteps of last year's strike and the mall tour, the first [[The Big Bash|Big Bash]] forms, eating the eastern and southern portions of Malton before blending with the next year's [[Mall Tour '07|mall tour]]. | ||
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| '''July 18th.''' DNA-Extractors provide profile info and allow the survivor to immediately revive the zombie. | | '''July 18th.''' DNA-Extractors provide profile info and allow the survivor to immediately revive the zombie. | ||
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| '''August 18th.''' Survivors gain an unlikely foothold in the zombie homeland of [[Ridleybank]], turning into a two month siege, the [[Battle of Blackmore]], at the suburb's only [[NecroTech Building]]. Although frequently outnumbering the zombies, the survivors eventually succumbed to a [[Shacknews|coordinated attack]] on October the 13th. | | '''August 18th & 28th.''' Survivors gain an unlikely foothold in the zombie homeland of [[Ridleybank]], turning into a two month siege, the [[Battle of Blackmore]], at the suburb's only [[NecroTech Building]]. Although frequently outnumbering the zombies, the survivors eventually succumbed to a [[Shacknews|coordinated attack]] on October the 13th. Later in August, survivors become more effective with knives, while the zombie sense of death sharpens and have learned to make crude, [[flailing gesture|flailing gestures]]. | ||
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| '''October 23rd.''' [[Caiger Mall]] falls to zombies for [[Third Siege of Caiger Mall|the first time]]. | | '''October 23rd.''' [[Caiger Mall]] falls to zombies for [[Third Siege of Caiger Mall|the first time]]. | ||
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<br><BIG><BIG><BIG>'''THE SWINGS'''</BIG></BIG></BIG><br><big>Plot of <font color='#98c1d9'>'''Survivor'''</font> and <font color='#8bd08b'>'''Zombie'''</font> populations. <br>2007 to Mid 2011.</big> | <br><BIG><BIG><BIG>'''THE SWINGS'''</BIG></BIG></BIG><br><big>Plot of <font color='#98c1d9'>'''Survivor'''</font> and <font color='#8bd08b'>'''Zombie'''</font> populations. <br>2007 to Mid 2011.</big> | ||
<div style="width:560px">While the ratio tries to stabilize at 3:2 in favour of survivors, zombie mega hordes swing the ratio back in favour of zombies... mainly by eating the humans. At the same time, crucial zombie game updates fed into the potency of coordinated zombies in sieges and in holding territory. Hence, "The Swings." </div> | <div style="width:560px">While the ratio tries to stabilize at 3:2 in favour of survivors, zombie mega hordes repeatedly swing the ratio back in favour of zombies... mainly by eating the humans. At the same time, crucial zombie game updates fed into the potency of coordinated zombies in sieges and in holding territory. Hence, "The Swings." </div> | ||
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| width='100px' | [[File:twoone.png|560px]][[File:twotwo.png|560px]][[File:twothree.png|560px]][[File:twofour.png|560px]] || style="vertical-align: top;padding-top:65px;width:600px;position:absolute" | | | width='100px' | [[File:twoone.png|560px]][[File:twotwo.png|560px]][[File:twothree.png|560px]][[File:twofour.png|560px]] || style="vertical-align: top;padding-top:65px;width:600px;position:absolute" | |
Revision as of 03:10, 19 June 2020
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The Survivor / Zombie Ratio, December 2005 to April 2020. Data obtained from Urban Dead statistics, April 2017 to current day. Older data from the Wayback Machine was collected manually.3
INTERPRETING THE GRAPHS The first graph shows the survivor-zombie ratio. The graph below shows the absolute survivor and zombie populations in a series of three parts: Early Day Volatility (EDV), The Swings (TW), and The Long Tail (TLT).4 These graphs go in-depth, listing most game updates and a small number of player-initiated events. While the game updates are listed regardless of their impact on the survivor-zombie ratio, partly due to the relative infrequency of the updates, the player events are (usually) listed if they seem to be responsible for a shift in the survivor-zombie ratio. An underlying assumption is that the ratio only changes if a force acts on it, be it a game update or player event. Although it often seems "obvious" that a game update or player event caused a shift in the ratio, it is impossible to identify all player events occurring at a given time; not all have been written into history. And given a specific time point, multiple events could be happening at the same time. How do we determine the degree to which each event influenced the ratio? Sometimes, however, an event is so large that it undeniably caused a change in the ratio. Call it a natural experiment. All that said, the purpose of the following in-depth graph is to chronicle the game balance over the years, without pointing too many fingers.
CAVEATS
WHY ISN'T [INSERT EVENT HERE] ON THE GRAPH? The graph maker may have missed an important game event (and it should be included). But it's also important to minimize the number of events and game updates on the page, as there's only so much room available. Larger scale events, such as roaming hordes and "big picture" moments in history (e.g., protests) are typically included. While some events clearly had no impact on the ratio, such as The Big Bash 4, they are still listed here. This is mainly included for the reader's interest, since the earlier versions of events tended to have a stronger impact. A few second city events are included for interest, even though their respective populations are not present in Malton's statistics. Some of the simpler or cosmetic game updates are also not mentioned, such as bug fixes, server upgrades, and unofficial changes (example).
EARLY DAY VOLATILITY The first year or so of Urban Dead's history was marked by rapid game updates, establishing fundamental mechanics that flattened the ratio close to equality. These changes came quickly on the heels of social upheaval, the kind consisting of protests, violent riots, and roaming zombie hordes. It was an energetic, though uncertain time.
CONCLUSION The ratio stabilized as time went on. By The Long Tail, there were three survivors for every two zombies. (To be precise, it's an average of 1.55 survivors per zombie over the entire game history.) Is this a sign of game imbalance? What things should look like is each person's opinion, grouped as follows.
The opinion of this author: the ratio favours survivors because they have more things to do and are more fun. The actual game mechanics are secondary to this. It could be that while survivors might be more AP efficient overall, efficiency isn't the only reason why players play the side they play (check out "See Also" below). And it is debatable that survivors are more AP efficient overall, as many factors need to be considered. While a shotgun objectively has a higher hit rate and damage over claws, search rates, movement, reloading, opportunity costs, and situation are also relevant.
SEE ALSO
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