Same complaint here. I have encountered this alot today. Mostly with hords

The spawn system is bad yes, but this problem can largely be ignored if you drop the idea of "clearing" anything. It's almost as if there must always be zombies, so when you take them all out, the game creates more, you know...

I understand the game needs to create more but I dont see the need to spawn right away. after a minute or so if your still in the area I can see that happening but not right behind you as your fighting a horde. I think its a major problem

Originally posted by CPL_CALLZ:

I understand the game needs to create more but I dont see the need to spawn right away. after a minute or so if your still in the area I can see that happening but not right behind you as your fighting a horde. I think its a major problem

Did the Screamer in the Horde scream perhaps? Because that would have a high chance of spawning in more zombies, including Hordes.

There’s a mod that technically "fixes" it, but with the side effect that you end up encountering a lot more zombies overall.

However, screamers can still spawn zombies out of thin air within about 30 meters of the player.

do yall have the juggernaut editon update? or are you playing on an older version of the game?

i had this issue on release, but years later after i got the juggernaut edition, the problem didnt happen anymore.

i haven had this issue since i first played on release adn didnt touch it for a few years

To offer positive criticism. This is my favorite zombie game, however the way that the units endlessly spawn so close to you totally ruins it. I played it again recently after years because I miss all the other features and immersion the game has. Take each aspect of the game other than the way the enemies spawn it's a 9+ game, the spawn ruins it all together. I understand how to reduce the spawns, kill the hearts after waking them up, all that. It's just your moving through a bubble that you kill all the zombies then they are back right behind them. It feels so janky that it is confusing that somebody said that's the way it should have been done, unless there was no other way. I understand that we are being attacked by a zombie plague. They should never just pop into existence so close to you. This mechanic needs to be tossed in State of Decay 3. I promise you, I don't care how cool the features are, graphics, etc. The state of decay 2 spawn is worse than that. It's sooo bad you would think that it's done intentionally to turn players into zombies for a real apoc.

That's where having a flexible outpost comes in super handy.

Outpost whatever is near you and it'll create a safe-ish space. Keep moving it as you move.

Originally posted by GoodGorilla:

To offer positive criticism. This is my favorite zombie game, however the way that the units endlessly spawn so close to you totally ruins it. I played it again recently after years because I miss all the other features and immersion the game has. Take each aspect of the game other than the way the enemies spawn it's a 9+ game, the spawn ruins it all together. I understand how to reduce the spawns, kill the hearts after waking them up, all that. It's just your moving through a bubble that you kill all the zombies then they are back right behind them. It feels so janky that it is confusing that somebody said that's the way it should have been done, unless there was no other way. I understand that we are being attacked by a zombie plague. They should never just pop into existence so close to you. This mechanic needs to be tossed in State of Decay 3. I promise you, I don't care how cool the features are, graphics, etc. The state of decay 2 spawn is worse than that. It's sooo bad you would think that it's done intentionally to turn players into zombies for a real apoc.

Basically, in this game, the zombies are just opposition to you going out and getting stuff and then returning to your base. Story-wise, they are the villain that ensures that you the hero has to fight to achieve your goals. From the developers' standpoint, it is therefore crucial that there are always obstacles for you to overcome; otherwise the game would become incredibly boring very fast.

Given the small team and the technological limitations of 2015-18, this was the way they chose to do it: the zombies are not only rendered in a 100m-ish radius around you, they are created out of thin air. This is to save memory instead of computing power. The Freaks being persistent on the map shows that they could have made all zombies persistent and rather render them in just like the rest of the world.

The fact that the zombies don't exist outside of the non-zoom visible perimeter around you, creates a problem when it comes to being obstacles standing in the way of your goals. Only 30-ish zombies can be aggro (having an "AI") at once before the game starts glitching (at least the way they programmed it for the Xbox limitations), and as a result of these two factors, threats to the player character can only be achieved in two ways:

1. More damage-dealing from the zombies
2. Constantly maintaining the max active zombie count

... and there you have it; the zombies not only have to pop in out of nowhere all around you, they have to do it mid-sprint and preferably out of your field of vision to at least maintain some respectability. Hence, they lunge at you from behind.

I totally agree, by the way, that this is a janky system. I wanted to explain why things are the way they are in order to show how I would want it instead.

Here is an outtake of a longer post that I saved on my PC, explaining what I'd like SoD3 to be like in terms of the zombie population:

"I would like there to be a story like in SoD1, but 10 hours not 2. Then in addition to that an open world mode like in SoD2 and Breakdown.

For the story mode, I'd like it to start high up in a mountain valley.... [redacted for brevity]

The open world mode removes all these story elements, and is therefore a continuation of SoD2 in terms of what you are supposed to be doing; building a community and clearing an area of zombies. But unlike SoD2, we're here actually talking every single zombie - as I'd like a complete rebuild of the entire spawn system and Plague Hearts/infestation systems. There should be no spawning of regular zombies; instead, they should be semi-persistent like the Freaks are in SoD2. Not rendered at all times, of course, but the game keeps track of their movement. So yes, in the beginning of the game, you can actually remove all the zombies from an area. However, as the game progresses and more of the map is being explored, a Plague Heart starts spawning Plague Zombies, who in turn infest nearby buildings. As an Infestation grows, it will eventually turn into another Plague Heart. And so on. As the regular zeds, undead, are killed off, they are being replaced with a bigger threat that is multiplying itself. The battle then becomes all about destroying the Plague Hearts before it is too late. When that is completed, the game has an endgame section where you welcome new survivors setting up in your territory, deal with rivals and missions taking out scattered pockets of zombies that haven't been dealt with yet.

The general upgrades to the game are expected of course, but the base building, Enclaves and Outposts need a major upgrade in both modes. You can build the base where you want, and simply keep a perimeter around the base that needs to be patrolled. That's where you can set up some watchtowers, build a fence to keep the zombies out (destroyable). In other words, you can claim several buildings and use those and the benefits they give, and surround the whole thing with a fence so that the zombies can't get in if you keep guard. However, if a major attack happens and the zombies get in, they could easily destroy the place very quickly like in They Are Billions. Since the zombies are not spawns, they may follow the noise of the base and your cars and shooting, converging on the base gradually. There should also be random events of giant hordes coming for you, for instance by a random survivor running for your base with a horde in tow."

Originally posted by danadkins1:

Got to do better then that. ABSOLUTELY PITIFUL spawn system. Just quit again because of zeds spawning right on my back awarding them INSTANT HEAD TRAUMA against me. Hopefully they remove this CRAP feature in the next installment of the game. Instead of winter beanies and other useless stuff.

CLEARLY a SKILL ISSUE.

Get this ALL THE TIME even when no screamers are around. I can always hear them running up behind me out of nowhere. Used to even have them spawn behind me on billboards. Even screamers. Like how the h-ll did they even get up there? LOL.

Also, while typing this, all of a sudden my CPU temperatures SPIKED WAY UP. What in the heck is STEAM doing in the background while I am typing. Seems VERY strange.