Warning! Due to its length and comprehensiveness, this is a multi-topic discussion. Read the “Prologue” before entering the thick of the post, and take breaks between each of the three posts. I suggest listening to music while reading, in order to keep stimulated.
I highly recommend reading all of the parts to The Turned, in order, from top-to-bottom.
You are currently on part 1 of 3.
Mega-post Prologue
PART 1 OF 3 of this multi-topic post covers examples of enemies we could expect in Unturned II. They are not necessarily suggestions for specific enemies, but suggestions for evolving the game’s mechanics and world design.
They are intentionally “far out” as to best start discussions over many different gameplay elements related to The Turned.
- However, there are some things this post does not touch on at all because because we don’t know where the game wants to go yet. I cannot legitimately suggest ideas for enemies beyond just some vague mechanics, of which might be out-of-scope for Unturned II.
Reading Goals
Nelson feels that there is room for a darker game with richer lore, without sacrificing some of the silliness and cool features you might not find in other similar games. Consider the following for part 1 of 3:
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What’s your limit on the visual models for enemy designs? Do you only support humanoid zombies?
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Is a shift towards more horror elements a good way to take the game?
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Damage and armor types are mentioned in part 2 of 3, but tie directly back into the Turned enemies. How do you feel about Turned being able to damage you in more ways than in previous games?
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Part of developing Unturned II’s PvE, progression, and end-game is that the Turned are always a threat. How do you believe enemies should differ as a player becomes more well-equipped to survive?
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The examples used for potential enemies are unique in that there are very few true open-world survival sandboxes that have a diverse set of unique enemies. Do you support Unturned II being the game to make such a serious leap in a genre some people have found to become increasingly stale?
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What is an acceptable amount of time and effort to dedicate towards developing the Turned, as opposed to other PvE mechanics that are also equally core features of the game? Where do you draw the line and say something isn’t important enough for the game?
Reading Time
The first part of the multi-topic mega-post is the largest of the three parts. Most of this is due to the enemy exposition and conceptualization, but also due to the massive lore bank. While a lot of unique lore is used as flavor text for each enemy concept, most of the actual lore is kept until the very end and can be skipped.
However, the lore at the end serves to better allow visualizing what U4’s lore could be like, how lore could tie into the game, how enemies can tie lore into the game, and how a good story can involve the player more directly than how U3 does not involve the player at all (outside of NPC quests).
Genre Shift
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Unturned is historically a post-apocalyptic zombie survival sandbox game. This post tweaks it to include more horror elements, without intending to subtract from what the franchise is already known for.
Zombies are still very important in these concepts, but the genre of the game becomes more “horror survival” than “zombie survival”. This opens up more for the game, with creative freedom for unique enemies and superior world-building.
Fewer limitations on gameplay. That is the goal.
Background Context on the Mega-post
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I wasn’t originally planning on creating this post, but I committed to it after a brief discussion with Nelson over enemy design in other games. Here’s a bit of what I was thinking for this post:
All zombie variants (and relevant mechanics) from Unturned should
appear in Unturned II in some form or another.
The basic zombie should actually be a complex and threatening enemy.
There should be minimal overlap between any two enemies
the player might face—be it Turned, wild animal, or NPC bandit.
Enemies have rules that they should follow. All the
Turned should make sense compared to one another.
The game is the sum of its parts, and this post has a lot of moving parts.
Players, Bandits, and NPCs
This post assumes that the plan for both passive and hostile humans to be present in Unturned II. Additionally, it is assumed that bandits, animals, and Turned are all hostile to each other.
“Players” refers to the player-controlled survivors that are the protagonist. “Bandits” refers to non-playable human characters that are hostile towards players. “NPCs” generally refers to quest-givers, vendors, and other similar safezone NPCs.
When designing the Turned, I felt it important to recognize that some gameplay elements should be exclusive to one or the other. For example, that only human entities should be capable of properly taking cover and using conventional firearms (or other such weapons).
The Turned – Bestiary
If the game was to have a far more diverse pool of enemies (amongst other things like fauna, flora, etc.), then the easiest way to provide players with information on them would be through an in-game bestiary that explains the various enemies.
Unlocking parts of the bestiary could just be as simple as killing the Turned for the first time, completing quests for NPCs who proceed to fill out your bestiary, or collecting story notes across the map (as opposed to U3 where we just leave the notes on the ground).
Three Enemy Groupings
This post sections enemies off into three groupings.
Zombies are the earliest stage of the Turned, while the host form is still quite intact. At the very least, it is possible to see what the creature was when it was unturned.
Anomalies are mutations, and are meant to be the Turned’s response to threats against the disease. They are not necessarily “counters” to a threat, but instead are about adapting threats to their advantage.
The symptoms of the disease are most pronounced at the Fastigium. Lesser Turned creatures work to amass biomass that is used to form amalgamations of pure, raw flesh. From this mass forms hiveminds, which represent the collective consciousness that commands the Turned.
Following Sections
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The following sections will detail the various Turned that I have conceptualized. Some of the text is “flavor text”, and is written from a more lore-based storytelling perspective.
Some information may not make sense until reading sections further down.
Zombie Classification
“Zombies represent the earliest stage of the Turned. The symptoms of the disease are only just beginning to form, so the creatures still retain visual identifiers as to their original form. Although zombies lack a bulk of their original intelligence and are easily dispatchable individually, their strength grows exponentially in numbers and when around greater species.”
Zombies make up the bulk of the Turned enemies. They are the simplest mechanically, and visually (with all mutations still within the relative confines of the host form). During traditional game progression, zombies are present in all areas.
While different zombies may have their own unique abilities, all of them feature a standard melee attack that, in addition to dealing damage against the player’s health bar, also deals immunity damage.
Zombie
Unturned II’s adaptation on the traditional “zombie” combines elements from U3’s normal zombies and U3’s crawlers. While they are the most conventionally designed, and are the most common threat to the player, they would have substantial improvements made to their AI.
Behavior Modes
Zombies have two behavior modes that determine how they physically move across the ground. They can spawn as either “crawlers”, or “walkers”.
Walker Behavior – Standard behavior for most zombies, with bipedal movement. From this behavior, zombies can be permanently disabled into the crawler behavior.
Crawler Behavior – Zombies can be disabled into this behavior, or will rarely spawn like so naturally. Crawlers move by using their upper body to drag themselves across the ground.
Zombies can be knocked to the ground via various weapons, with many blunt melee weapons being the most effective. Whether or not being knocked prone should always result in the zombie becoming a crawler is something I have not committed to.
AI Pathing
Depending on the situation and number of zombies present, they change their AI pathing to better pursue the player.
Individual Pathing – When hunting as an individual, zombies take the most direct route to their target.
Pack Clumping – When hunting in a small group, zombies clump together into a tight pack, moving and attacking together.
Horde Pathing – When hunting in mass, zombies exhibit increased intelligence and some individuals will purposefully split off in order to take less direct routes so that they may hope to flank the prey or cut them off entirely.
Miscellaneous Traits
Melee – A basic melee attack that causes physical and immunity damage.
Stun Weakness – Zombies are highly susceptible to being stunned by various weapons. With enough force, zombies can be knocked away from the player, or even to the ground. Zombies can be permanently restricted to the “crawler” behavior.
Variance – Due to being such an early stage in the Turned process, zombies still exhibit various traits of individuality in their behavior. Health, movement speed, attack speed, and attack strength may show variance.
More Information
- Zombies represent the earliest stage of the Turned’s effect on humans.
- Zombies knocked down into a crawler, or spawn as a crawler naturally, cannot shift back into a walker behavior.
- While zombies are not actively pursuing “prey” (be it human or wild animal), they can be found idling and shambling about. Most commonly, this is seen in towns and cities.
Prime Zombie
When a player character dies, depending on the conditions surrounding their death they may become a Prime Zombie.
Prime Zombies have all the same traits and abilities as normal zombies, but can be seen with fleshy growths over their body. This is to visually differentiate them from normal zombies, so that players are always aware of which zombie to prioritize (as with the new corpse-looting system this is the only way for the player to retrieve their loot).
Prime Zombies are also physically tougher than normal zombies, and could potentially even reflect the character’s unturned form more accurately by basing stats on various skills pre-death.
The conditions upon which a player can become a Prime Zombie are few, however. The most important factor is the presence of Fastigium-level Turned. Otherwise, the player is typically just killed entirely.
Leaper
“Leapers” effectively replace U3’s sprinters. Rather than being characteristically faster than other Turned, like in U3, their main gimmick is the ability to more effectively scale obstacles.
While pursuing players, they will leap over most obstacles that would have prevented normal zombies from actually taking the most direct path.
Biology
“Leapers” are the first proper mutation of human zombies. They’ve evolved to function more like a quadruped, while still retaining the ability to grasp onto objects with their hands (allowing for fine motor skills).
Gameplay
Gameplay-wise, they’re functionally identical to U3’s sprinter but now they can jump over small obstacles.
If you wanted to make them more complex, they could climb over obstacles too, or even climb ladders and scaffolding and such. However, I don’t feel this is entirely necessary to improve the core gameplay experience (even if it’s cool).
Acid Spitter Zombie
“Sprouting new glands, these zombies are capable of projecting an acidic spit. Upon death, these glands violently rupture, causing large spillage in the corpse’s proximity.”
Biology – Acid Glands
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Acid Spitter Zombies are very similar to U3’s Acid Zombies. However, rather than visually just foaming around the mouth they’ve now mutated to have an acid sack near the front of the body (or attached to the head directly, in which case the skull is now held up by the spine).
Acid glands fill this sack up, and the zombie is able to fire an acidic projectile.
Acid Spit – Fires an acidic projectile that explodes on contact, leaving behind a small puddle of acid. The zombie is intelligent enough to lead its own shots, in an attempt to dissolve the wheels of passing vehicles or burn fleeing survivors.
Acidic Puddle – When the zombie perishes, it leaves behind an acid puddle that damages entities over time whilst they stand in it. Clothing items worn by players, items on corpses left in the puddle, or items dropped directly into the puddle are all affected by quality-degrading damage.
If you wanted to make them more complex, the growths on their body could be the weak point of the zombie. They could either be additional crit spots, or could actually burst and result in the zombie’s immediate death.
Biology – Physical
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Acidic Resistance – Resistant to acidic damage.
Melee – A basic melee attack that causes physical and immunity damage.
Melee Weakness – Acid Zombies are highly susceptible to being stunned by various melee weapons. With enough force, Acid Zombies can be knocked away from the player, but not to the ground.
Volatile Acid Zombie – Cancerous Mutation
The Volatile Acid Zombie is, in a way, a step up from its predecessor. The acid-filled tumors have spread throughout its body, leading to a much more volatile zombie while still retaining the traits of its predecessor.
However, the introduction of a more volatile death makes the “melee resistance” rather useless information to the player.
Acid Trail – A highly acidic substance trails behind the zombie.
Acidic Explosion – When the Acid Zombie perishes, it violently explodes and damages nearby entities (including other Turned).
Mega Zombie
“Standing at nearly twice the height of a normal zombie, Mega Zombies appear to be the pinnacle of zombie evolution. While normally a lone zombie would not be cause for much concern, the Mega Zombie is single-handedly capable of toppling various military installations.”
This implementation of the Mega Zombie makes it a bit more deadly than its previous counterparts, without too many major changes to its design.
Assuming that the game offers map-wide AI navigation, Mega Zombies will already become more deadly by being able to pursue players out of their spawn zones. With the ability to toss other objects, more deliberately destroy obstacles, and call upon hordes the Mega Zombie is now truly threatening even to a more veteran player of U3.
Traits and Abilities
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Ground Pound – The Mega Zombie lets out a roar before quickly slamming the ground, causing a small shockwave in the immediate area. This tends to attract nearby Turned, in addition to damaging anything caught in the shockwave.
Mega Melee – Melee attack that deals substantial physical damage to the target, knocks them back a little bit, and deals immunity damage.
Object Throw – Mega Zombies can throw various objects. Some larger objects, like cars, are not easily tossable but can still be knocked around. When no objects are nearby, the Mega Zombie resorts to pulling out a chunk of the earth to throw instead.
Stun Resistant – Resistant to most attempts at being stunned or knocked back.
Flesh Hound
Although the Turned normally kill indiscriminately, be it survivor or wild animal, Flesh Hounds mark the start of assimilating other creatures too. Mutations are quick to appear, causing boney spikes to protrude from the skull and spine.
Design and Gameplay Philosophy
Unturned II should feature both hostile and passive wildlife. The Turned shouldn’t take away from what hostile animals can add to the game, but they do help to add more diversity to the standard zombie Turned and create a deeper world for the player.
Flesh Hounds, effectively zombie dogs, are entirely on the side of the Turned. This means that they will work with other Turned to attack survivors or wild animals, and rather than hunt in packs exclusive to their host species they attack with any other Turned that have been alerted.
I would suggest making a zombified version of every animal, because:
- they should have a visually distinct silhouette from the unturned version
- the main “zombie” should still be turned humans
- developing more interesting wild animals would be better than developing a bunch of zombie animals that all end up pretty similar to the Flesh Hound
Lore-wise, the Turned are a hive mind. They do not need to assimilate every creature into their ranks. Some creatures just aren’t as important to them beyond being biomass.
Now, you may have understood that the previous zombies conceptualized are all just further mutations on the original classic zombie. If more “zombified animal” Turned were to be introduced, it would be interesting if some of them continued with that idea (of the same original creature but various stages of mutations) rather than all of them just being a basic animal-turned-zombie enemy.
Traits and Abilities
[Combat]: Very similar to U3’s sprinters, in that they’re fast and can melee attack. Due to being a part of the Turned hive mind, they no longer hunt in packs like some unturned wild animals may do. Instead, their growling attracts any other closely-nearby Turned (regardless of variant).
[Stats]: Although the spikes across their spine and skull have made them more lethal, much of the original flesh has been stripped so they’re slower than their unturned counterparts and easier to kill.
The Desolate
A popular suggestion has been for “neutral Turned” that are passive to players. Another popular suggestion has been for the “slenderman character model” to be reused for Turned.
The idea of “neutral” Turned is interesting because, while they’re quite irrelevant to actually surviving most of the time, they do add an eeriness to the game and could still technically be killed for loot.
Lore-wise: while the Turned are functionally a hive mind, the Desolate could have experienced neural mutations that have made them outliers. Humans that never finished turning, and have instead been left to go insane even within their shattered frame of mind.
Development-wise, rather than having development resources put towards their combat capabilities, it is instead put towards making their idle animations and activities.
The Desolate could have a more substantial impact on gameplay too, if they were to function like scavengers and actually pick up and move items around the map, or to their own various “dens”.
Anomaly Classification
“Anomalies are no longer recognizable as anything that may have once been unturned. At its core, adaptation is the overcoming of struggles. Anomalies represent The Turned’s struggle to evolve. For what is the cost of evolution, in a world with nothing left to lose?”
Anomalies are mutations, and are meant to be the Turned’s response to threats against the collective whole. They are not necessarily outright “counters” to a threat; anomalies are about adapting threats to their advantage.
A lot of these enemies function as a “mini-boss” of sorts, like how the Flamethrower Boss is functionally a mini-boss of sorts.
Behemoth
“A hulking quadruped with a tendency to blindly charge at anything perceived as a threat. Larger, meaner, and deadlier than a Mega Zombie. Perhaps there’s a correlation between the two, or perhaps the Behemoth is just the disease’s response to us.”
The Groundpounder from U3 has become more deadly with this reincarnation. Rather than just being a Mega Zombie that jumps instead of throwing rocks, its main method of attacking is now a bull rush charge.
Visual Design and AI Cheesing
Visually, the Behemoth is a bit like a quadruped Mega Zombie, if it was bigger and less definable as a human. The Behemoth is one of the first Turned actually unable to enter some buildings due to its size.
This is further explored in part 3 of the mega-post, alongside other gameplay complications. If handled appropriately, then the player should deserve whatever cheese they chose to perform.
Gameplay Mechanics
Charge – The Behemoth loudly charges the threat, dealing damage and knocking back anything in its way. Once it gets going, it is hard for it to stop and reorient itself.
Ground Slam – The Behemoth rears back and leaps at the target, loudly slamming into the ground with a heavy impact.
Stun Resistant – Resistant to most attempts at being stunned or knocked back.
Technopath
“An uncommon sight, the Technopath is a hurling mass of flesh and tendrils. Technopaths are adept at manipulating of mechanical and technological devices, and radiate electricity. Technopaths have biologically evolved to not only counter technological advancement, but adapt it as its own.”
The Technopath is a replacement for the Lightningstrike Boss featured in U3.
This particular suggestion marks a big change for the game moving forward. So, hear me out. This isn’t even remotely close to a zombie, nor are any of the suggestions moving forward.
Design Philosophy – Non-humanoid Turned
Unturned’s genre would best be described as a “zombie survival sandbox” game.
Moving forward with Unturned II, Nelson still wants to implement mechanics he finds “awesome to have” and he believes that “it is fun to keep the silly mechanics”. He also believes that “there is room to make it darker and have a serious lore for players who want it”, and wants to avoid some of the PvP issues of its predecessor.
This mega-post achieves both of those in various ways with various suggestions. The “darker” part comes from a shift from just being a “zombie” game to also being a “horror” game. The anomalies and the Fastigium make up the “horror” part of the game, and allow for more interesting enemy designs (visually and mechanically).
It’s also unique, and puts a new twist on the series. There really aren’t that many true horror survival games. They tend to focus on one specific entity, such as Bigfoot or the Rake, and that’s the extent of the game. Even fewer of these games are sandbox games, which is the defining feature of Unturned. The games that come closest to being horror “survival” are actually just linear single-player story-driven games (like Dead Space).
Consider these LoveCraftian fiends for what they can add to Unturned II not just lore-wise, but also gameplay-wise as they further develop the PvE aspect.
Technokinesis
Machine Manipulation – When the Technopath is physically in contact with machines, it has full manipulation over it. Turrets and drones can be used to defend the Technopath from threats.
Remote Interfacing – Machines and other electronics can be disrupted, locked, or disabled by the Technopath without having to physically come into contact with them. Anything powered (e.g., flashlights, night-vision goggles, street lamps) is rendered dysfunctional, and will suffer battery drainage even when inactive.
Electrokinesis
Electrostatic Burst – Fires a relatively-slow burst of electricity at the target. Causes damage in a small area-of-effect, although most damage is a result of the initial impact.
Electrostatic Levitation – Technopaths manage to float above the ground, although not by much. In spite of this, they prefer to stay relatively near the ground except when following targets to higher areas.
Voltaic Whiplash – Lashes out with electrified tendrils.
Biology
Electrostatic Resistance – Resistant to electrical damage.
EMP Weakness – Technopaths are susceptible to being EMP’d themselves, which renders their technokinesis and electrokinesis abilities unusable for a short time. If the Technopath is far above the ground, they will take fall damage when their levitation is disabled.
Stun Resistant – Resistant to most attempts at being stunned or knocked back.
Tendrils Melee – Several tendrils protrude from the Technopath’s body, which can be used to attack.
Unique Combat
While the Technopath is still a notable threat on its own, it has the potential to be the greatest threat immediate threat to even a group of experienced players based on the amount of technology it is controlling.
Technopaths are incredibly rare outside of high-end areas, but when they do spawn they’re really only limited to simpler machines like stationary lights or portable radios. These are not offensive instruments, and are only useful in either scaring the player or attracting other Turned.
In end-game areas and activities, like while running Excursions, Technopaths have access to much more advanced machinery they can take advantage of. Cameras that provide increased awareness, sentry guns that offer real firepower, and small aerial RC drones are all examples of technology Technopaths may have access to at end-game zones.
Audio Effects
Most Turned and animals are limited to just various grunts, moans, and screeches. The Technopath, however, has actual dialogue as provided through various audio logs, PDA system archives, radio playbacks, and other recordings.
This dialogue is not only produced while the Technopath is idling, but also during combat as either a taunt against the player or a response to something that recently occurred.
Phlogopath
“As history would have it, the primitive flame has always been an acceptable answer to contagions in the face of adversity. The Phlogopath demonstrates why none of our beliefs are secure anymore.”
The mildly-dangerous Flamethrower Boss and really-jank Magma Zombie have been combined to create this new Turned suggestion.
Pyrokinesis (Phlogopath abilities)
Pyrokinetic Breath – Breathes flames that can set objects and substances on fire, and deals damage over time to living organisms caught in it.
This ability is very similar to the fire-breathing ability of U3’s Flamethrower Boss.
Biology (Phlogopath)
Combustion Inducement – The Phlogopath has a tendency to randomly set flammable objects and substances on fire when moving through them.
Inflammation – When the Phlogopath is damaged, its body naturally becomes superthermal.
Thermal Melee – Basic melee attack that can also do additional thermal damage.
Phlogocytes – Releases a swarm of Phlogocytes.
Thermal Resistance – Resistant to thermal and heat damage.
Phlogocyte
“Spores birthed in flames, Phlogocytes seek out nearby threats and explode in their proximity. Upon exploding, they have a tendency to set nearby flammable objects and substances on fire.”
Phlogocytes replace the Burner Zombies and their Burner Zombie mechanic (of spreading fire to other zombies).
These are not humanoid; they are fiery spores. They are quite visually similar to other large Fastigium spores.
[Combat]: Phlogocytes explode based on proximity to threats. When a Phlogocyte detonates near normal spores those spores will cause their own miniature explosion that can damage other objects, survivors, or Turned.
[Stats]: Like all spores, they are quite weak. However, Phlogocytes do exhibit thermal resistance.
Glaciopath
“A truly special anomaly. Glaciopaths are unique in that they don’t appear to have been formed as a response to any one conscious threat, but instead to its environment. Although they’re rare outside of snowy environments, they’ve been seen travelling throughout the rifts.”
Something U3 has always lacked is a unique Zombie Boss for a map like Yukon. The Glaciopath functions as a snowy-themed worm-like mini-boss. While they are not frequent outside of snowy maps (or the winter season, perhaps), the idea behind Excursions could allow them to either be present in Excursions regardless of the map or to very rarely appear on other maps due to travelling through Excursion Zones.
Cryokinesis
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Icy Breath – Discharge an icy cold mist from the mouth, which deals damage over time and slows entities.
Permafrost Adaptation – Glaciopaths are adept at integrating ice into Fastigium biomass. While the cold was once a threat to the Turned and their need to expand, Glaciopaths have effectively bent nature to the Turned’s will.
“Permafrost Adaptation” as a an ability is more important lore-wise than as an actual ability. While it could have an active effect on the Turned, I don’t believe it’s worth the development complications to do so. See the “Neospagetos” hivemind variant, and the Glaciopath’s “Permafrost Armor” for its actual relevancy.
Biology
Burrowing – Glaciopaths are built for burrowing into earth.
Cold Immunity – Immune to cold damage.
Permafrost Armor – A unique Fastigium adaptation on the idea of permafrost has resulted in the creature having various parts of its body covered in any icy exoskeleton, making it more resilient.
Seismic Sense – Glaciopaths are able to pick up even the slightest vibrations in the earth, enabling them to perceive their surroundings as precisely as normal sight.
Riftweaver
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Just like how the environment is constantly changing as days pass and seasons change, Riftweavers are what help push the game’s difficulty progression forward in its own cycle.
Lore-wise, Riftweavers are responsible for the creation of the rifts that allow players to enter into an Excursion Zone. They also work to build other core components of a Fastigium hive. Their presence indicates a large amount of Fastigium mass is present, enough to the point of a rift gateway being formed.
Excursions effectively replace Horde Beacons as the end-game activity. Harvesting the corpses of Riftweavers is important in being able to perform excursions when Fastigium gateways are in existence.
Ethereal
“The cost of evolution is humanity. This is the epitome of the anomaly. Ethereals, or perhaps The Ethereal, is the link between our world and theirs. We know what it is – it’s one of us.”
Ethereals replace the Flanker Zombie and Spirit Zombie, and are based on “The Anomaly”. They are not necessarily Turned, but they are still a threat to any player.
Etherkinesis
Aether Bolt – Fires a weak bolt of energy.
Aether Medium – The Ethereal passively generates a medium of darkness around it and the surrounding area.
Duplication – Create a lesser duplicate of itself for a short period. Substantially weaker, and translucently purple in color as opposed to the pure black of the primordial Ethereal.
Partial Teleportation – The Ethereal can perform a partial teleportation, so long as it is within its own aether medium.
Spike Projection – Creates spikes of energy across the ground, jutting out towards the Ethereals’ intended target.
Biology
Etheric Body – The being’s physical body is made of pure ether. They are nearly non-corporeal, intangible beings.
Particulate Cloud – When the Ethereal is damaged, it emits a toxic cloud around itself that lasts for a brief amount of time.
The Anomaly – The Ethereal exhibits true consciousness. Unlike other Turned, they appear to function wholly independently from the hivemind. When an Ethereal does appear, it may randomly execute lesser Turned beings—notably, human zombies.
Willpower – The power of etherkinesis is limited by the user’s will. If the user becomes unconscious, leaves the proximity, or otherwise loses control of itself it cannot maintain its ethereal projections and will consider leaving entirely.
Unique Gameplay Mechanic
Due to the Ethereals’ unique nature, it opens up the ability of having Turned specifically to discourage something like kill-on-sight philosophies.
While I envisioned them to spawn naturally, albeit when players aren’t expecting it, its strength could adapt to the player(s) it spawns near.
As a method of discouraging players from gaining a negative reputation, it could appear most often for those players.
Fastigium Classification
“The symptoms of the disease are most pronounced at the Fastigium. Zombie, anomaly, or unturned, none of it matters in the end as all the collected mass is piled into one amalgamation of pure, raw flesh. The Fastigium represents the ultimate collectiveness of the disease, as a hivemind begins to take form from the mass.”
Fastigium Spores
“Toxic spores have been spreading like a plague across numerous cities and military installations. While it isn’t harmful to breathe in small doses, some areas are so infested that we’ve been needing to fabricate makeshift gas masks just to get through. It’s the larger spores that really set you off—that’s when you know you’re in the thick of it.”
Spores replace the Deadzone mechanic featured in U3. Although some locations may feature a similar deadzone mechanic due to radiation and not spores, that is a far less common hazard.
Mechanically, it’s basically the same—spore inhalation is the deadly. However, the game could use this mechanic more casually and make the options for being able to safely progress through these areas more numerable.
Even if a player did not have any proper equipment for the area, the game could possibly even just have a short timer before dealing damage to the player’s immunity.
“Spore Damage” is detailed in part 2.
Small Fastigium Spores
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There are two types of “small” spores:
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Small aesthetic clusters, which just fly randomly around the area (even if it’s not a “deadzone”) and add more detail to the world by just looking aesthetically interesting.
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Large deadzone mists, where the spore density has thickened and your vision cannot see beyond incredibly well past the hazy mist of them. The mist primarily exists to help outline the area of the “deadzone”, rather than actually be a serious limit on a player’s vision.
Large Fastigium Spores
Lore-wise, when a ton of smaller spores accumulate they begin to form much larger spore masses.
Gameplay-wise, they foreshadow when entering a Fastigium-heavy area. These areas are not only “deadzones”, but are also likely to have stronger enemies in them. It is best to not approach these areas until you have the proper equipment to handle its more extreme conditions.
Combat-wise, they’re irrelevant beyond being slightly volatile. Upon being damaged in any way, they have a tendency to burst and cause a leakage of smaller spore clusters into the area. If the player was too close to the large spore, they’re prone to taking a sudden spike in spore damage.
Fastigium Mass
“When a lot of the larger spores start clumping together, they form this thick and incoherent fleshy mass. Some buildings are covered in the stuff, as if the normal overgrowth of vines and other flora wasn’t enough. This fleshy mass makes it difficult to get through some of the buildings, and a fair portion of it is just a vent for producing more spores!”
The Fastigium mass make up the thick of the overgrowth covering the most decrepit of buildings, and almost entirely coats the areas that make up Excursion Zones. Some of this overgrowth has been adapted into providing certain functionalities and utilities to the Turned collective.
Fastigium Overgrowth
Fleshy biomass has taken over some of the more decrepit buildings, making their corridors quite cramped and the floors sound of mush. Areas with a lot of Fastigium mass tend to be high-end zones, and really start pushing the more “horror survival” feel of the game.
Fastigium Spore Vent
Some of the overgrowth have been modified to function as a vent, which allow for fumes and spores to be ejected from the biomass into the surrounding area.
Fastigium Grappler
Grapplers are sessile creatures that function as a natural defense mechanism for the Fastigium. While they’re built for consuming the bodies brought in by other Turned forms in order to produce for biomass, they can also snag still-living creatures that have accidentally strayed too far into the hive.
Lore-wise, these are meant for collecting the biomass brought in by Turned creatures so that it can be added to the rest of hive. The ability to trap unsuspecting players is just a bonus, and that’s the part we actually see during gameplay.
Grapplers, and ideas like them, help restrict the player’s ability to move around an area willy-nilly by forcing them to slow down.
Mechanically, they are more like an enemy than an object (overgrowth) or environmental hazard (spore vents), so they randomly spawn attached along ceiling-hanging Fastigium mass and can be killed.
Fastigium Rift Gateway
“Some biomass has begun to pile together into an archway. These gateways connect the rifts between our reality and theirs.”
While lore-wise the Fastigium would constantly be expanding across a map unless physically pushed back, that isn’t really represented in-game. However, Fastigium rift gateways are something that would be interesting to have forming and decaying naturally over time.
Like how in U3 airdrops aren’t entirely random and have specific locations where they can drop, gateways can begin forming at various areas in a Fastigium-heavy zone. Over time, these gateways will fully-form and players can perform an activity involving Riftweavers (in one way or another) in order to stabilize the rift and perform an Excursion.
Over time, these gateways will also begin to fall apart and decay. They are inoperable when they are not fully-constructed. It’s possible that mechanics could be implemented so that players could speed up either of these processes if they so chose to.
Hiveminds
“Hiveminds are the result of merging the bodies and biomass into a singular fleshy amalgamation. Hiveminds demonstrate nearly full control over lesser Turned forms, and they grow in intelligence as they grow in size.”
When a large amount of Fastigium mass is clumped together in one area, a true hivemind begins to form. These are entirely sentient creatures, and lore-wise give “commands” to the rest of the Turned in order for them to continue growing.
Hiveminds entirely revamp the idea of “final bosses” in Unturned. While U3 has the two Cursed Zombie Bosses, which are functionally identical to each other aside from the arena and just have the abilities of all other zombies, the hiveminds are unique.
Apex – Hivemind variant
“The Apex runs rampant throughout the Excursion zones.”
The Apex is barely recognizable as anything but a mass of Fastigium, and exists more so in the background rather than as an enemy. It is the main antagonist, however, and lives in the “Excursion Zones” players can enter.
Due to Excursions taking place in a fortified complex, the player cannot actually the Apex that well as it itself is relatively trapped within the confines of the complex.
The Apex is responsible for allowing Turned like the Glaciopath onto any map, the Apex is the reason why players cannot stay in Excursions indefinitely, and the Apex is responsible for the mechanics behind how you get a majority of the loot from performing Excursions. This information can be found in the section specific to Excursions.
Assimilation Node
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Assimilation Nodes appear on parts of Fastigium mass attached to the Apex, and when destroyed provide loot.
This is better explored in part 3 of the mega-post, when covering Excursions.
Neospagetos – Hivemind variant
“A smaller hivemind has begun to develop in the Yukon. Not restricted to the confines of the rift complexes, it has developed four limbs that excel at moving across the harsh environment.”
Neospagetos is an example of a map-exclusive “boss” enemy. While the Apex cannot be fought traditionally, and only serves to push forward the plot and the mechanics behind Excursions, Neospagetos is an idea for “proper boss fights”.
Unique Gameplay
The creature is larger than any other Turned enemy (excluding the gigantic Apex), and is meant to be fought in its own arena like U3’s Cursed Zombie Bosses are. A permafrost-like coating covers its appendages.
As a “proper boss”-type of enemy, this opens up the possibilities of more dynamic hitboxes with different ways to actually damage enemies. For example, making the legs on the Neospagetos a weak point, if players are capable of removing the ice first.
Overseer
“The Overseer is beacon for the hiveminds. While some hivemind variants may be confined to one location, they can still exhibit great control over lesser Turned forms by using Overseers to amplify their power.”
Overseers function to replace Hyper Zombies and the Full Moon mechanic.
In U3, zombies suddenly become temporarily stronger based on an arbitrary event that lasts an arbitrary amount of time and applies to any arbitrary area. U3 also has a system for overriding the Config.json for a specific area so that all zombies could spawn as spirit zombies, or spawn as burner zombies, or take reduced damage overall.
Both of those systems don’t effectively fulfill their intended goals. Full Moons don’t make zombies that much more difficult, and nav overrides don’t really make end-game areas any more uniquely-interesting or deadly either.
Unique Mechanics
Overseers spawn attached to Fastigium mass, similar to how grapplers and rift gateways work. They are sessile, but are an actual enemy that can be killed rather than just being an environmental hazard.
When an Overseer “forms”, the Turned in the area gain traits akin to U3’s “hyper zombies”. They are more hyperactive, more coordinated, and more lethal. If the player can find and kill the Overseer, the Turned will lose these traits.
If they were designed to spawn in any area, then it would make more sense to give them a much more limited range and have them call for other Turned in the area to congregate around them so that they receive the “Hyper Zombie” bonuses.
Lore
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The Turned
“The Turned are victims of a disease. An affliction without cure, living organisms are consumed and merged into violent amalgamations. Individuals appear uncoordinated, while the larger mass portray significant intelligence as rifts are interwoven between our reality and theirs.”
Although it’s unknown where they originated from, the first signs of the Turned in our reality began not with the zombies, but the spores.
A Few Spores
While a few spores were never that harmful, they began to multiply. Eventually, large mists would cover towns and those who’d dare to inhale the spores would have regretted doing so, if they had lived long enough to understand what was about to happen.
Those were the first zombies. Basic in form, with the host body still very intact otherwise, it would be easy to understate the true deadliness of the Turned. These zombies would end up targeting humans still left unturned, of which would be the vast majority of the world’s population, in an effort to accumulate biomass or spread the spores to more people.
A Hivemind Forms
As biomass begins to accumulate, a hivemind will begin to form from an amalgamation of flesh and bone. This hivemind will serve to command the lesser Turned creatures, so that they may more effectively spread the spores and accumulate more biomass.
Although mutations happen quite naturally amongst the Turned, a hivemind allows for them to be not only more frequent but also more controlled.
Mutations…
Although mutations are natural, any given specific mutation does not become commonplace within the Turned until it can be established as a useful evolutionary advantage.
“Leapers” are the first proper mutation made from human zombies. They have evolved the body into naturally holding a more quadrupedal stance, while retaining fine motor skills that would allow them to better pursue prey.
Acid zombies were the next major mutation, featuring acid glands that gave the Turned a ranged attacking capability. They were also the first example of a mutation to turn cancerous, resulting in their much more volatile sub-variant.
Some turned humans have mutated into “Mega Zombies”, standing at nearly twice as tall as they did before. For some time, these mega zombies would be thought to be the greatest threat of all the Turned.
With a high-functioning hivemind in place, it can begin to create more advanced mutations known as anomalies, which appear as if they were sculpted out of pure Fastigium mass. These anomalies are first created through a much more rigorous and extreme process of trial and error than natural mutations.
But, not every turned human is fit for undergoing extreme levels of mutations. Those most suitable are known as “Prime Humans”, or, when turned, “Prime Zombies”. These humans were far more resistant to the spread of the disease, and were not able to be turned as easily as others were. As a zombie, they can be identified through external growths littering their walking corpse.
…and Anomalies
The first recognized anomaly was the “Behemoth”, named for its hulking size and monstrous strength. Although some may speculate that its a more cancerous mutation on a Mega Zombie, it is no longer recognizable as something once human. Now a rampaging quadrupedal beast, Behemoths are single-handedly capable of pulverizing military outposts and installations.
From there, other anomalies began to appear.
When militarized forces began employing flamethrowers, napalm strikes, and other incendiary devices against the Turned, they adapted. Phlogopaths broke any remaining shred of hope humans may have had in the safety of their own flames. Phlogo- meaning “inflammation”, and -path meaning “suffering”, this anomaly variant turned the humans’ own flames against them by making them its own.
As the Turned came across increasingly advanced technology, they would once again adapt. Heavy mutations would eventually lead to the creation of Technopaths, which could not only disrupt electrical devices with its own electrostatic pulses but also take control of machines it came into contact with.
But not all the anomalies were adaptations against threats employed by humans. When the Turned began to struggle to survive in the harsh environment of the Yukon, Glaciopaths formed. These worm-like creatures have manipulated ice to their will, creating for the Fastigium masses a new form of permafrost integrated into the biomass itself to quicker manipulate its core temperature and to better shield the hivemind from sentient menaces.
Turning Other Creatures
Humans were not the only creatures subject to the spores of the Turned, however. While it is not efficient for the Turned to assimilate every creature into its ranks, various dogs have been turned too. Just like with humans, they undergo their own series of mutations in an effort to gain superior lethality.
What has not been seen, however, are aquatic turned. The Turned appear hydrophobic, or at least the Fastigium do, making the world’s oceans the greatest barrier we have. After all, 71% of the Earth’s surface is composed of water and if the disease cannot spread then it cannot turn more people.
Riftweavers
That is, of course, until the Riftweavers formed. Despite lacking the aggressive offensive capabilities of their other anomaly brethren, they are easily one of the most important variants to the hivemind.
Responsible for creating the archways out of Fastigium mass that some of the more exploratory survivors have reported sighting, the Riftweavers are also responsible for making these archways function as gateways between locations.
When the first rift gateway appeared in Washington, those unfortunate enough to have willfully chosen to go through it were brought into a mass of fortified complexes from another reality, that have since been overrun by a much larger Turned creature. If they had not perished to hivemind living in the fortified complexes, they may have lived to realize that all the rift gateways were connected to these complexes and the Turned were using it to travel en masse.
The Apex
The Apex is a highly-sentient hivemind lifeform living in the fortified complexes that all the rift gateways link back to. Larger than any life once present on Earth but essentially just a mass of tendrils due to being limited to the confines of the fortified complexes, the Apex is a horrific amalgamation of flesh.
Those unfortunate enough to perform excursions through the rift gateways are greeted by the full stopping power of the Apex. Spores begin to flood the complex while lesser Turned endlessly attempt to exterminate the intruders. Various natural functions of the hivemind and Fastigium mass also function as deadly traps and environmental hazards.
Those too unwise to consider leaving are eventually left stranding as the gateways are eventually closed off by Riftweavers, and the intruders have no option but to wait for their impending death. During the earliest days of the rifts forming, much high-end military gear was lost to the Apex, and a lot of their more experimental technology would be permanently lost to the Apex before prototyping would ever have a chance to finish.
Assimilation Nodes
Those wise enough to progressively learn about the complexes before performing a full-on excursion, however, have achieved far better results in combating the Apex’s controlled environment.
Along the Apex’s tendrils that run through the complex are “assimilation nodes”, which function to merge biomass into the hivemind. Occasionally, these nodes will pick up non-biological objects which just end up as an incomprehensible hybrid of flesh and steel. Some of the experimental equipment lost by the military has also ended up in these assimilation nodes, and those prepared enough to perform a proper excursion into the rift complex have been able to retrieve this gear for their own use.
Neospagetos
One of the first hiveminds to develop on Earth became known as Neospagetos, being an improper translation of “newborn” and being more literally translated as “new frost”. The hivemind lives in the harsh Yukon environment. Unlike the Apex, the Neospagetos is actually capable of physically roaming around its hive.
Its legs are adept at piercing into dense ice and other solid terrain, and its Fastigium appendages are coated in an icy mixture produced by Glaciopaths via their “permafrost adaptation” capabilities.
Beginning of the End – the Apocalypse
Humankind never really stood a chance. Perhaps if the hiveminds and anomalies never existed they could have far more easily eradicated the Turned threat. Yet, the Turned were never just zombies, even if that was their most common form to behold.
All it took were just a few spores to spell the reckoning of mankind.
Now, most countries are dysfunctional and have fallen to chaos. Once-organized militaries have fallen into ruin, and nations lack any true resources to defend themselves from the Turned siege.
End of the Beginning – Welcome to Unturned II
But just like how the story of the apocalypse began with only a few spores, your own story is the tale of those few survivors that are now here to claim back what was stolen from them.
The Art of Storytelling
A lot of these enemies are not just suggested for the unique gameplay mechanics that U4 could have for its actual enemies, but also for how they can tell a richer lore. This entire post hinges on the idea of lore pushing everything forward.
The Apex Threat
Unturned has a relatively-extensive lore for a sandbox game, it’s just that most people don’t actually know any of it proper. But, what people do tend to understand is that a lot of the issues faced by the survivors are due to the incompetence of Scorpion-7 and Big J in one form or another.
The Apex replaces that narrative point. Those corporations aren’t actually relevant to the player, because they’ve never been personally impacted by them and they aren’t around anymore to leave an impact on the player. The Apex, however, is a constant threat looming over the players.
Then there’s things like the Assimilation Nodes, which provide a lore-friendly explanation behind where the random loot from Excursions come from, and explains how the crazier end-game loot came to be.
Rift Complexes
Rifts connect all the lore together. Regardless of the map, all of it weaves back into these rift complexes where Excursions are performed. It keeps everything connected, and allows for a sensible way of connecting stories together when it would have been difficult otherwise.
Riftweavers are an enemy that primarily exist just to further emphasize the importance of rift gateways and Excursions, and to further connect the world together by just making the game feel like it’s changing (even if it isn’t).
Technopaths and Dialogue
Technopaths are a prime example of a superior form of storytelling. By having an enemy produce actual dialogue, even if it’s contorted and corrupted, is an effective form of exposition while also letting the enemy be more horrifying to actually face.
And given how rifts connect all the afflicted areas together, there is a lot of room for telling the game’s lore through Technopaths. Lore about locations not featured as an actual playable map, lore about how various people and installations reacted to the outbreak, and lore about everything else.
Glaciopaths and Neospagetos
Originally, the “Glaciopath” was the only ice-based enemy I conceptualized, and I was just trying to come up with a visual before it. After a friend and I spitballed ideas enough, we came up with separating the idea into two entities entirely as to better get across the idea of anomalies, adaptive mutations, and hiveminds.
The Neospagetos hivemind variant could not have survived without having formed the Glaciopaths. Although the cryokinesis-themed part of the Glaciopath is relatively underdeveloped in actual combat gameplay against it, the background information designed around the Turned enemy makes it more important for other creatures.
They are both bigger threats to the player not just because they’re more immediately lethal in combat, but also because they play a bigger role in the grand scheme of things. The players who choose to understand the game’s lore, who are under no enforced commitment to do so, have a far more real reason to keep pushing forward.
Hiveminds of the Turned
Likewise, the hiveminds. No hivemind is identical, even though their long-term goals are the same. With the possibility of U4 having “full-bosses too” in addition to normal enemies, the hiveminds fill that roll.
But what’s more important is that they are more easily manipulatable from a creative standpoint to fit the story, and since they’re still in existence (unlike S-7 and Big J) they can have a present and future impact on players.
Passive/Neutral Turned
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My suggestion uses the Desolate as an example of this. Although it hasn’t been suggested often, it’s an idea that a fair amount of people like.
It really doesn’t add a lot to the game’s main lore, but even the minor details that something like neutral Turned provide is quite effective at further immersing players.
Players Becoming Turned
A popular suggestion has been for players to become Turned upon death. The idea is interesting, but raises awkward gameplay implications. The easiest way for me to resolve these issues in my own suggestion post was to make them visually distinct, and only develop under certain conditions that you don’t really get into until the end-game.
Players being able to be Turned adds a lot to explain how the “disease” actually works, and in my suggestion players are actually a special case scenario in that they’re abnormally more immune than others.
The Ethereal
Finally, the Ethereal. When a game does establish a rich and interwoven lore behind the world and the game’s events, something like the Ethereal is the kind of outlier you see in a lot of bigger stories that never really make sense.
Conceptually, Ethereals are not really Turned. They’re something beyond physical matter. In fact, I could even consider all appearances of the Ethereals to just be the same “one” Ethereal and its duplicates.
When things start to not make a lick of sense, in spite of feeling like a deep and engaging piece of lore, is when the game has the opportunity to really take a game further (if it so chooses).
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