Survivor: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:46, 25 April 2024

This page has been revised for the current stable version (41.78.16).

Help by adding any missing content. [edit]

Spoiler warning!

The following contains unhidden spoilers pertaining to the story of Project Zomboid. Proceed at your own risk.

This article is about NPC survivors. For player survivor, see player.

A survivor is a human NPC that has survived the initial infection and is trying to survive the Knox Event.

Future survivors

This is a future feature.

This section is about an item or mechanic that is currently unimplemented and planned for build 43.

It has either been previewed or found in the game files and does not exist yet.

Kate and Baldspot as a future teased NPCs

Survivors are going to be reintroduced in build 43 as a fully interactable NPCs. It is currently unknown how recruiting or joining survivors will work, as much of this is still in the early phases.

Though this might be changed, NPCs are planned to have narrative stories occurring with or without the player's inclusion. For example, a survivor trying to get their loved ones to a hospital and getting in a car crash and having to fend for themselves.
These stories can be changed due to engine limitations and might be used in a later update for the NPCs

Legacy survivors

A NPC rejecting a team request

A survivor (right) threatens the player with a shotgun

Survivors, simply called an NPC back then, were present in older versions of the game and subsequently removed in order to be reworked and readded in a later version, currently scheduled for build 43. Survivors served as an interactive element within the game's environment. These characters, operating under the game's AI, performed a variety of tasks within the game world, and possibly forming either helpful partnerships or becoming adversaries with the player.

Generally, survivors could form alliances with the player or other survivors, or engage in combat. A survivor's response to a team request from the player would be influenced by the player's attitude and the survivor's personality, ending in either a good relationship or a duel to the death. Once a survivor has formed an alliance with the player, they could take on assigned roles, and act under given commands such as "stay", "follow", or "guard."

Survivors demonstrated AI that allowed them to perform a multitude of tasks, mirroring what the player would do to survive. They roamed around the game's world, engaged in combat with zombies, sought items for scavenging, and consumed food and water for survival. They also had the ability to loot buildings and fortify shelters through barricading or installing sheets. When not in a team with a player, survivors could form alliances among themselves and assign each other tasks such as seeking food or zombie hunting.

Beyond their actions, survivors exhibited their own set of traits and professions, randomly assigned from the same pool available to the player. They also had the ability to gain experience and level up in skills, improving their survival abilities over time. One unique aspect of their design was their attribute for bravery, those with low bravery might choose to flee when confronted with a threat, while those with high bravery may opt to stand their ground and fight.

Specifically, three variations of NPC survivors existed in-game: gun nuts, true neutrals, and loners, each having different interaction patterns and behavior tendencies with the player and game environment.

Gun nuts

Gun nuts were hostile survivors who would verbally warn (and then attack) anybody — the player, zombies, or other survivors — on sight. These NPCs didn't spawn naturally, but only made appearances at scripted locations in Story Mode. They were unable to join the player's team or engage in dialog with the player, serving solely as a threat.

True neutrals

True neutrals were initially friendly survivors who could ally with the player. Their willingness to team up was contingent upon the player's attitude. Once teamed up, these NPCs could be directed by the team's "leader" (the group creator) to assume roles or take on orders. The player could bestow items upon these group members, receiving gratitude in return. Otherwise, true neutral NPCs would stay neutral and not attack players unless attacked first.

Loners

Loners were solitary survivors who committed to surviving by their own efforts and refused to join the player's team, irrespective of the player's attitude. Persistent team requests could irritate a loner to the point of instigating a fight with the player. Other than their reluctance to team up, loners generally behaved like true neutrals, opting not to attack players unless provoked.

Annotated maps

The annotated maps contain scripted notes left by fellow survivors and lead to places marked, or specific stashes left by them.

Survivor homes

Survivor homes are homes that are randomly generated upon the world generation, sometimes related to annotated maps^[verify], where living people stayed at some point. They are set apart from the surrounding houses by having boarded up windows, hiding goods (and zombies) within.

These homes are a fantastic source of rare items, including skinny leather trousers (or the nearly identical black leather trousers), katanas, M16s (often including, like any other guns that can be found, magazines, ammo, and attachments for it), sledgehammers, and more. These valuable items will often be found in cabinets, rather than on the housed zombies themselves.

Because they are often already boarded up, survivor homes can also double as a fantastic base of operations in a heavily populated city, for example, Louisville, as long as the player keeps quiet while inside.

The cars outside these homes are also often in a generally better condition, have a higher amount of gas in them, are more likely to have the keys in the ignition, and tend to contain more/better loot inside.

Survivor homes tend to contain more zombies than the average house, but they also contain exponentially more/better loot, essentially making them dangerous lootboxes.

Survivor hordes

Players can sometimes encounter the so called survivor horde, it can also be spawned using one of the debug mode options. Survivor hordes feature a sizeable group of zombies, including one zombie with a large backpack with food and supplies.

Survivor stories

In build 41 there are multiple survivor stories that can sometimes spawn dead or zombified survivors.

Randomized building survivor stories

Inside any house, these stories that currently appear are:

Suicide by Bleach
Gunslinger
Locked in Bathroom
Dead Drunk
Eating zombies
Bathroom Zed
Bedroom Zed
Football Night
Hen Do
Stag Do
Student Night
Poker Night
Suicide Pact
Prison Escape
Prison Escape with Police
Skeleton Psycho
Corpse Psycho
Police at House
House Party
Tin foil hat family
Hockey Psycho (friday 13th!)

Vehicle stories

There exist some extra vehicle stories as well:

Utility Vehicle
Construction Site
Burnt Car
Police Blockage Shooting
Police Blockade
Basic Car Crash
Ambulance Crash
Basic Car Crash Corpse
Changing Tire
Flipped Crash
Bandits on Road
Trailer Crash
Crash Horde

Zone stories

There are also the following zone stories available:

Basic Forest Camp
Forest Camp Eaten
Burying Camp
Beach Party
Fishing Trip
BBQ Party
Hunter Forest Camp
Sexy Time
Trappers Forest Camp
Baseball
Music Festival Stage
Music Festival

More randomized stories were teased to be added in build 42. Each of those stories can also be spawned using debug mode.

Metagame

Main article: Metagame

Most metagame events, including a helicopter event, indicate survivor presence, however, as of build 41, no physical survivors correlate to this.

Other

It is also possible to encounter randomly generated burnt-out houses and crashed vehicles. Also, as time passes, it is possible to encounter zombies with unusual weapons. Both are an attempt of indicating survivor presence.

Unique outfits

These are outfits with unique names/looks that are currently defined in the game, viewable in debug mode where they can be used as an outfit in character creator or spawned as zombies in the horde manager. They can also presumably be found zombified in the regular game.^[verify]

Male only

Bob – Bob Smith, originally from 'Til Death Us Do Part.
Dean – Dean, host of Exposure Survival show from Life and Living TV.
Duke – Duke, a camera guy from Triple-N, also seen on TURBO.
Frank_Hemingway – Frank Hemingway, one of the hosts of LBMW - Kentucky Radio, along with Jackie Jaye.
John – John, a presenter from Triple-N.
Judge_Matt_Hass – Judge Matt Hass, one of the guests in Triple-N.
Mayor_West_point – unnamed West Point Mayor, a mayor of West Point.
Raider – a raider known as Bobby Collins, originally from 'Til Death Us Do Part.
Rev_Peter_Watts – Reverend Peter Watts, one of the guests of WBLN News, a bishop of Louisville.
Sir_Twiggy – Sir Twiggy, owner of the Twiggy's bar, named after a streamer of the same name.
Woodcut – "Woodcut", an unnamed host of the Woodcraft show from Life and Living TV.

Female only

Jackie_Jaye, Jackie Jaye, one of the hosts of LBMW - Kentucky Radio, along with Frank Hemingway.
Joan – Joan, one of the hosts of Triple-N, along with Kirsty Cormick.
Kate – Kate Smith, originally from 'Til Death Us Do Part.
Kirsty_Kormick – Kirsty Cormick, one of the hosts of Triple-N along with Joan.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-{{Languages|Survivor}}
+{{Header|Project Zomboid|World|AI}}
-{{header|The Game World|NPC|version=Version 40|incver=43}}
+{{Page version|41.78.16}}
-{{Obsolete}}{{Future|build=[[build 43]]}}
+{{Spoiler}}
-[[File:Raider.png|thumb|A survivor (right) threatens the player with a shotgun.]]
+{{About|NPC survivors|player survivor|player}}
-A '''Survivor''' is a human [[NPC]] that has survived the initial [[infection]] and is trying to survive the [[Knox Event]].
+A '''survivor''' is a human [[NPC]] that has survived the initial [[Knox Infection|infection]] and is trying to survive the [[Knox Event]].
-==Kate Smith==
+==Future survivors==
-[[Kate]] Smith is a NPC that is spawned at the start of the game in [['Til Death Us Do Part]]. She broke her leg when fleeing from hostile survivors, and is cared by Bob Smith (the player). She doesn't need any food or water to survive, but she is still capable of dying of damage or by smothering by a pillow. Kate Smith is the only survivor spawned with an injury, and she is not capable of moving, although her bleeding will slowly recuperate. She is suppоrtive of Bob, and cares about him deeply, going as far as telling him not to risk going outside at night because he might die.
+{{Future|build 43|section=true}}
+[[File:K&B intro.png|thumb|[[Kate Smith|Kate]] and [[Bob Smith|Baldspot]] as a future teased NPCs]]
-If the player wishes that he wants to skip the tutorial, he can kill Kate by either smothering her with a pillow or attacking her with a weapon. If Kate is killed, the safe house music will change and Bob will get a picture of Kate. All the scripted events will be canceled, and Bob will be forced to roam Knox County alone, without a tutorial and without the pre-determined NPCs.
+Survivors are going to be reintroduced in [[build 43]] as a fully interactable [[NPC]]s. It is currently unknown how recruiting or joining survivors will work, as much of this is still in the early phases.
-==Gun Nuts==
+*Though this might be changed, NPCs are planned to have narrative stories occurring with or without the player's inclusion. For example, a survivor trying to get their loved ones to a hospital and getting in a car crash and having to fend for themselves.
-In Project Zomboid, gun nuts are special NPCs who are always hostile towards the player. They will attack at sight, and they will only spawn at pre-determined locations at the start of the game.
+*These stories can be changed due to engine limitations and might be used in a later update for the NPCs
+{{Clear}}
-==='Til Death Us Do Part===
+==Legacy survivors==
-In [['Til Death Us Do Part]], exactly two Gun Nuts will spawn in the world. They are Jack Bloggs and Bobby Collins. More information of what they do to the player or what they say can be found at the [['Til Death Us Do Part]] article.
+[[File:Npc1.jpg|200px|thumb|left|A NPC rejecting a team request]]
+[[File:Raider-old.png|thumb|A survivor (right) threatens the player with a shotgun]]
+Survivors, simply called an NPC back then, were present in older versions of the game and subsequently removed in order to be reworked and readded in a later version, currently scheduled for [[build 43]]. Survivors served as an interactive element within the game's environment. These characters, operating under the game's AI, performed a variety of tasks within the game world, and possibly forming either helpful partnerships or becoming adversaries with the player.
-====Bobby Collins====
+Generally, survivors could form alliances with the [[player]] or other survivors, or engage in combat. A survivor's response to a team request from the player would be influenced by the player's attitude and the survivor's personality, ending in either a good relationship or a duel to the death. Once a survivor has formed an alliance with the player, they could take on assigned roles, and act under given commands such as "stay", "follow", or "guard."
-Bobby Collins a cruel yet well-prepared man who roams Knox County, looking for a home. Bobby has a shotgun, 18 shells, a baseball bat, a vest, a trouser, and a lighter, which is loot able by the player after he is dead. After cooking a [[Pot of Soup]], the Smith family will receive a transmission from a radio, and Bobby Collins will spawn sometime during the transmission. Bobby will then make his way into the Smith house, and will threaten Bob or Kate with a shotgun, and will kill them both if Bob doesn't intervene. If Bobby is stopped, the tutorial spawn limit will be gone, and the player will have to survive as if the game were [[Sandbox Mode]]
-====Jack Bloggs====
+Survivors demonstrated AI that allowed them to perform a multitude of tasks, mirroring what the player would do to survive. They roamed around the game's world, engaged in combat with zombies, sought items for scavenging, and consumed food and water for survival. They also had the ability to loot buildings and fortify shelters through barricading or installing sheets. When not in a team with a player, survivors could form alliances among themselves and assign each other tasks such as seeking food or zombie hunting.
-After completing the tutorial, you can find a survivor in the supermarket. He is armed with a shotgun, and will warn Bob to leave the supermarket. If Bob doesn't leave, he will shoot Bob, but if Bob kills him while he is warning him, Bob will be able to steal his belongings, which are a shotgun, a sweater, a trouser, 18 shells, a baseball bat, a lighter, and some other supplies.
-==Other Survivors==
+Beyond their actions, survivors exhibited their own set of [[traits]] and [[professions]], randomly assigned from the same pool available to the player. They also had the ability to gain experience and level up in [[skills]], improving their survival abilities over time. One unique aspect of their design was their attribute for bravery, those with low bravery might choose to flee when confronted with a threat, while those with high bravery may opt to stand their ground and fight.
-The survivors listed in this category can spawn in both the sandbox and the story mode.
-===Neutral Survivors===
+Specifically, three variations of NPC survivors existed in-game: gun nuts, true neutrals, and loners, each having different interaction patterns and behavior tendencies with the player and game environment.
-A true neutral survivor is a survivor who will team up with the player if the player has a good attitude. True neutral survivors can then be ordered by a "leader" (usually the player if the group is formed by a player). As of the 0.2.0r RC2.5, they can be ordered to "stay", "follow", or "guard". In addition to that, they will fight or flee from zombies, depending on personalities. The player can give a team NPC items, and the NPC will respond with gratitude.
+===Gun nuts===
+Gun nuts were hostile survivors who would verbally warn (and then attack) anybody — the player, zombies, or other survivors — on sight. These NPCs didn't spawn naturally, but only made appearances at scripted locations in [['Til Death Us Do Part|Story Mode]]. They were unable to join the player's team or engage in dialog with the player, serving solely as a threat.
+===True neutrals===
+True neutrals were initially friendly survivors who could ally with the player. Their willingness to team up was contingent upon the player's attitude. Once teamed up, these NPCs could be directed by the team's "leader" (the group creator) to assume roles or take on orders. The player could bestow items upon these group members, receiving gratitude in return. Otherwise, true neutral NPCs would stay neutral and not attack players unless attacked first.
 ===Loners===
-A loner is an "initially-neutral" survivor who will spawn naturally in Knox County. Loners will not want to join the player, regardless of the attitude of the player, and any attempt to team up will end in anger in both sides. A loner that is continuously bothered with team requests will fight the player in a duel to death. Other than their team attitude, they will generally act like true-neutral survivors.
+Loners were solitary survivors who committed to surviving by their own efforts and refused to join the player's team, irrespective of the player's attitude. Persistent team requests could irritate a loner to the point of instigating a fight with the player. Other than their reluctance to team up, loners generally behaved like true neutrals, opting not to attack players unless provoked.
+==Annotated maps==
+The [[Map (item)#Annotated maps|annotated maps]] contain scripted notes left by fellow survivors and lead to places marked, or specific stashes left by them.
+==Survivor homes==
+Survivor homes are homes that are randomly generated upon the world generation, sometimes related to annotated maps{{Verify}}, where living people stayed at some point. They are set apart from the surrounding houses by having boarded up windows, hiding goods (and [[zombie]]s) within.
+These homes are a fantastic source of rare items, including [[Skinny Leather Trousers|skinny leather trousers]] (or the nearly identical [[Black Leather Trousers|black leather trousers]]), [[katana]]s, [[M16 Assault Rifle|M16s]] (often including, like any other guns that can be found, [[Magazine (disambiguation)|magazines]], [[ammo]], and [[Weapon parts|attachments]] for it), [[sledgehammer]]s, and more. These valuable items will often be found in cabinets, rather than on the housed zombies themselves.
+Because they are often already boarded up, survivor homes can also double as a fantastic base of operations in a heavily populated city, for example, [[Louisville]], as long as the player keeps quiet while inside.
+The [[Vehicles|cars]] outside these homes are also often in a generally better condition, have a higher amount of gas in them, are more likely to have the keys in the ignition, and tend to contain more/better loot inside.
+Survivor homes tend to contain more zombies than the average house, but they also contain exponentially more/better loot, essentially making them dangerous lootboxes.
+==Survivor hordes==
+Players can sometimes encounter the so called ''survivor horde'', it can also be spawned using one of the [[debug mode]] options. Survivor hordes feature a sizeable group of zombies, including one zombie with a [[Large Backpack|large backpack]] with [[food]] and supplies.
+==Survivor stories==
+In [[build 41]] there are multiple survivor stories that can sometimes spawn dead or zombified survivors.
+===Randomized building survivor stories===
+Inside any house, these stories that currently appear are:
+*Suicide by [[Bleach]]
+*Gunslinger
+*Locked in Bathroom
+*Dead Drunk
+*Eating zombies
+*Bathroom Zed
+*Bedroom Zed
+*Football Night
+*Hen Do
+*Stag Do
+*Student Night
+*Poker Night
+*Suicide Pact
+*Prison Escape
+*Prison Escape with Police
+*Skeleton Psycho
+*Corpse Psycho
+*Police at House
+*House Party
+*Tin foil hat family
+*Hockey Psycho ([[Wikipedia:Friday the 13th (franchise)|friday 13th!]])
+===Vehicle stories===
+There exist some extra vehicle stories as well:
+*Utility Vehicle
+*Construction Site
+*Burnt Car
+*Police Blockage Shooting
+*Police Blockade
+*Basic Car Crash
+*Ambulance Crash
+*Basic Car Crash Corpse
+*Changing Tire
+*Flipped Crash
+*Bandits on Road
+*Trailer Crash
+*Crash Horde
+===Zone stories===
+There are also the following zone stories available:
+*Basic Forest Camp
+*Forest Camp Eaten
+*Burying Camp
+*Beach Party
+*Fishing Trip
+*BBQ Party
+*Hunter Forest Camp
+*Sexy Time
+*Trappers Forest Camp
+*Baseball
+*Music Festival Stage
+*Music Festival
+More randomized stories were teased to be added in [[build 42]]. Each of those stories can also be spawned using [[debug mode]].
+==Metagame==
+{{Main|Metagame}}
+Most [[metagame]] events, including a helicopter event, indicate survivor presence, however, as of [[build 41]], no physical survivors correlate to this.
+==Other==
+It is also possible to encounter randomly generated burnt-out houses and crashed vehicles. Also, as time passes, it is possible to encounter zombies with unusual weapons. Both are an attempt of indicating survivor presence.
-===Abilities===
+==Unique outfits==
-Survivors get the traits and professions the player also starts with, and they too, can level up skills. Survivors are also given a level of bravery; more cowardly survivors will flee from enemies while braver ones will stand and fight, despite them fighting a hopeless battle.
+These are outfits with unique names/looks that are currently defined in the game, viewable in [[debug mode]] where they can be used as an outfit in character creator or spawned as zombies in the horde manager. They can also presumably be found zombified in the regular game.{{Verify}}
+===Male only===
+*{{ID|Bob}} – [[Bob Smith]], originally from [['Til Death Us Do Part]].
+*{{ID|Dean}} – [[Dean]], host of ''Exposure Survival'' show from [[Life and Living TV]].
+*{{ID|Duke}} – [[Duke]], a camera guy from [[Triple-N]], also seen on [[TURBO]].
+*{{ID|Frank_Hemingway}} – [[Frank Hemingway]], one of the hosts of [[LBMW - Kentucky Radio]], along with [[Jackie Jaye]].
+*{{ID|John}} – [[John]], a presenter from [[Triple-N]].
+*{{ID|Judge_Matt_Hass}} – [[Judge Matt Hass]], one of the guests in [[Triple-N]].
+*{{ID|Mayor_West_point}} – unnamed [[West Point Mayor]], a mayor of [[West Point]].
+*{{ID|Raider}} – a raider known as [[Bobby Collins]], originally from [['Til Death Us Do Part]].
+*{{ID|Rev_Peter_Watts}} – [[Reverend Peter Watts]], one of the guests of [[WBLN News]], a bishop of [[Louisville]].
+*{{ID|Sir_Twiggy}} – [[Sir Twiggy]], owner of the [[Twiggy's]] bar, named after a streamer of the same name.
+*{{ID|Woodcut}} – "[[Woodcut]]", an unnamed host of the ''Woodcraft'' show from [[Life and Living TV]].
+===Female only===
+*{{ID|Jackie_Jaye}}, [[Jackie Jaye]], one of the hosts of [[LBMW - Kentucky Radio]], along with [[Frank Hemingway]].
+*{{ID|Joan}} – [[Joan]], one of the hosts of [[Triple-N]], along with [[Kirsty Cormick]].
+*{{ID|Kate}} – [[Kate Smith]], originally from [['Til Death Us Do Part]].
+*{{ID|Kirsty_Kormick}} – [[Kirsty Cormick]], one of the hosts of [[Triple-N]] along with [[Joan]].
 ==See also==
+*[[Animal]]
+*[[Jack Bloggs]]
+*[[NPC]]
+*[[Pastor Samuels]]
 *[[Player]]
-*[[NPC]]
-*[[Animals]]
 *[[Zombie]]