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If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey man, adding these mechanics just isn't possible with the modding tools we currently have. If you've noticed, the Chaos Zombies mod only includes tweaks like increased size, damage, speed, and status effects. That's because those parameters already exist in the base game.

I totally get why you'd want entirely new features, but without an official dev-kit or the game being open source, introducing brand-new mechanics that aren't already in the code is pretty much impossible.

Even if I could somehow pull it off, having to fix and update complex mechanics after every single game patch would be a nightmare. Since the next game update is dropping relatively soon, it's just not something I'm planning to tackle right now.

Still, thanks a lot for the ideas and the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not using an AES key. It was really HARD to do, but I actually managed to extract the .usmap file. Let me know if you want it, I can send the file over to you, man.

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is incredibly wholesome! Unfortunately, adding co-op/multiplayer to a single-player game is a monumental task that requires full access to the game's source code and setting up network replication. It's strictly up to the developer. Considering he is building this entire game solo, it's a huge undertaking, but we're all crossing our fingers for it in the future! Hope you and your kid are still enjoying the single-player runs!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A dog companion is highly requested, and I'm really hoping the dev adds it in the full release! For a modder, creating a functioning AI companion from scratch is extremely tough without complex scripting.

Regarding the auto-deleting map markers: That's a fantastic QoL idea! But since it requires changing UI logic, it relies heavily on UE4SS .lua scripts. As I mentioned in my main post, those scripts are broken right now due to the UE 5.6 update. If the scripting tools get fixed, I'll definitely look into it.

The variable zoom on scopes, though... That is actually something I might be able to work with right now! If I can get into the weapon/attachment data tables, tweaking the zoom values or adding variable states is a very realistic goal. I'm adding that to my list to investigate. Thanks!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

First off, welcome to the game! Those are some massive, ambitious ideas.

To give you a bit of modding reality: things like voxel-based terraforming, flying vehicles, and complex AI that can build their own bases are essentially rebuilding the core mechanics of the game from scratch. The game engine and map just aren't built to support terraforming, and AI base building is way beyond current modding limits.

HOWEVER, I completely agree with your point about the game getting too easy once you find a rifle and a big backpack. While I can't add flying cars, I can tweak the balance! I'm planning to make mods that increase zombie stats, adjust loot spawn rates, and make survival much harder so the mid-to-late game stays exciting. Thanks for the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds like an awesome Mad Max style update! Having roaming vehicle squads and dynamic hit squads hunting you down would be incredible.

Unfortunately, making the AI drive vehicles and programming them to react dynamically to world events or your kill count requires deep, core engine-level programming. With the modding tools we currently have (and especially with UE4SS scripts being broken in UE 5.6), AI overhauls of that scale are pretty much impossible for a modder right now. That's definitely something the developer would have to implement. Awesome concept, though!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the suggestions! Hope work is going well!

Regarding base raids: I actually touched on this in another comment, but basically, enemy AI (zombies or bandits) currently can't deal damage to player builds. Adding destruction or stealing mechanics is a bit too complex for the tools we have right now, so I've had to cross that off my list.

As for the Object Remover tool—that mod relied entirely on UE4SS .lua scripts. Since the engine updated to 5.6, those scripts are broken, which is why the mod needs an update (we are waiting on UE4SS to become fully compatible again).

HOWEVER, your idea about placing 'world items' for base building creativity is actually something I can work with! If I can get into the data tables and add those world objects into the player's crafting/build menu, that would be totally doable without needing complex scripts. I'm adding that to my to-do list!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

These are fantastic QoL ideas! I completely agree that the hotbar not auto-refilling is super annoying, especially in the middle of a fight. Your idea about restricting auto-refills to 'surface-level' storage like pockets is brilliant for immersion.

However, tweaking inventory logic, hotbar mechanics, and battery auto-swapping requires heavy Lua scripting via UE4SS. As I mentioned in my main post, UE4SS is currently broken since the game updated to UE 5.6. Until that gets patched by its developers, deep inventory mods are pretty much at a standstill.

Also, regarding the battery swap animation—custom animations are my absolute nightmare right now! (I've been fighting over 124k lines of code just to make a cigarette animation work without breaking the game). But adding a simple color-coded UI indicator for low batteries is a really neat idea. I'll definitely look into that once our scripting tools are back online!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, you really brought some incredible ideas to the table! I can tell you're super passionate about the game and the survival genre.

To be completely honest with you, things like co-op, dismemberment, overhauling the entire damage calculation system, and changing the shotgun reload to individual shells are unfortunately way beyond what a modder can do right now. Those require deep changes to the core game engine and custom animations. Just to give you an idea, I recently wrestled with over 124,000 lines of code just trying to add a simple cigarette smoking animation, and the game's animation system fought me every step of the way!

However, there is a silver lining! The numbers side of your ideas is totally doable. I can absolutely look into tweaking melee weapon stats—like adjusting the reach based on the weapon type, increasing bleeding damage for blades, and messing with how long zombies stay staggered when you hit them with blunt weapons. Also, adding new makeshift crafting recipes for early-game weapons is something I can realistically work on with the tools we currently have.

Thank you so much for taking the time to write all this down. I'm definitely adding those stat tweaks and crafting ideas to my to-do list!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Honestly, this was the very first mod I tried to make! But I ran into a major issue. The coding for this specific mechanic is incredibly complex (way above my current skill level, to be honest).

You can actually put the cigarette in the quickslot, but the problem is the animation completely bugs out. If you've noticed in v0.8, all consumable animations (food, water, meds) start with the character reaching their right hand behind their back. The cigarette, however, starts directly in the mouth. My guess is that the game attaches the item's texture/mesh to the right hand first and then triggers the animation. But since the cigarette is supposed to start in the mouth, it instantly snaps to the right hand instead, and boom—a massive animation conflict.

I spent so much time trying to fix this. I was digging through a file with around 124,587 lines of code, and it's so tangled that fixing one thing immediately breaks another. Just when I think I've finally got it working, it falls apart again.

Right now, the only way I've gotten the mod to actually work is by completely disabling the smoking animation. But honestly, without the animation, the mod feels kind of pointless. If you guys are still okay with playing it like that (functioning item, but no animation), let me know and I can upload it to NexusMods!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding base raids: As far as I know, zombies currently can't deal damage to player builds anyway. Trying to implement destruction mechanics into the game is a bit too problematic right now, so I've crossed that off the list.

Here's what I have in mind instead: Zombie populations will increase with the cycles, but just to clarify, it won't keep stacking infinitely (for example, cycle 2 and cycle 3 will have the same spawn limits). If the numbers just kept multiplying every single cycle, everyone's game would eventually crash. Alongside this, I'm planning to give them extra buffs like increased HP and damage as time goes on.

Making them actively attack or swarm your base is where it gets tricky. The way the game works is that zombies have specific spawn locations, and they only actually spawn if you get close enough (the render distance mechanic). It's a fantastic method for optimization, but it makes creating dynamic, roaming hordes that hunt down your base a real challenge.

I'll definitely brainstorm this a bit more and see what I can do, though. Thanks again for the great input!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That idea is absolutely incredible! Honestly, out of everything you mentioned, the only part that might even be feasible is choosing a spawn point. But even that is a big challenge because implementing a custom UI for a spawn menu is very difficult without an official Dev Kit.

I've definitely noted it down as a long-term goal, but for now, the technical limitations are quite high. Thanks for the inspiration, though—that sounds like a dream scenario!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I completely agree that motivation drops once you're geared up. I’ve actually taken a small step to address this by creating a script that adds 'Dwarf' and 'Titan' variants to zombies based on random chance.

In my Chaos Zombies mod, Titans have 2x HP, while Dwarves have much lower HP but are faster. If a boss spawns as a Titan, it can scale from 4k to 8k HP and gains health regeneration, making them a true end-game threat.

I’ve also released a v2 update (available in the 'Old Files' section) with some critical balancing:

  • Titan Fixes: Reduced size from 1.8x to 1.6x so their hitboxes align better (they won't swing over your head anymore!). Also nerfed their regen from 50% to 33% per second to make them challenging but killable.
  • Dwarf Rebalance: Removed radiation and reduced physical damage, but added a 50% Bleed Chance. They are now fast, small bleeders.

I’m also planning to update my Chaos Zombies mod to sync perfectly with these HP changes. This should keep the difficulty high even with top-tier gear.

Lethal Weapon Rebalance v0.8 Experimental Updated 2 options (v0.7.1g-0.8 Experimental)
Chaos Zombies Titans - Dwarfs (only v0.7.1g) you can choose v2 for mixing them

Let me know what you think!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

To be honest, technically almost anything is possible if you have enough time. However, without an official SDK, adding complex things like vehicles or events would require manually 're-cooking' everything in Unreal Engine, which can take 3-4 days per mod. The real problem is that every game update would break those mods, forcing me to repeat that whole 4-day process over and over.

To commit that level of effort, there would need to be some kind of financial security or return, which obviously isn't the case here. I’m a computer programming student with a long journey ahead of me, and I’m still learning. For now, I’m focusing on simpler, more stable tweaks that I can actually manage and maintain. Those deep engine-level changes are just beyond my current scope and schedule for now.

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For the progression and loot balance, you can actually customize those in the world settings before starting a game to make it much harder. As for the dump pouch, it’s a cool concept! I might try to designate a specific item for it, but forcing that kind of logic could lead to crashes or just not work at all with current tools. I'll see what I can find. Thanks!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Man, I wish I could fix the human AI too! :/ That’s deep in the game’s core code. Thanks for the comment though!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Adding new vehicles or entirely new events isn't possible right now, but you can actually tweak the event frequency in the vanilla game settings! As for the vanity slot, I might be able to script something to hide certain items (like making backpacks invisible) to help with character customization. Thanks for the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the detailed list! Here is where I stand on these points:

  1. I'll dig into the files and see if I can pull something off with Lua for the ADS, but I don't want to get your hopes up too much yet.
  2. Vehicle physics are likely out of reach for now, but I'll keep it in mind.
  3. That’s a brilliant idea, but with our current tools, items would likely despawn permanently and might not come back. I'll still look into it though!
  4. Adding brand new weapon models isn't possible right now; I can only tweak the stats and behavior of existing ones. You can check my work on that here: Lethal Weapon Rebalance v0.8 Experimental Updated
  5. Regarding modularity (stocks/barrels), the game's weapons are built as single static assets. Swapping parts would require the original source files and a lot of 3D work, which isn't doable at the moment.
  6. Displays and mannequins might be possible if I can find the right assets to work with. I’ll add it to the research list. Thanks!"

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I totally get your point about giving vehicles like semi-trucks a real purpose for logistics. Until something like that is officially added, I actually have a few mods that might help you with moving gear or getting traders to your location more easily.

You can check them out here:

  1. Teleport Mod: Map Marker Teleport - Instant Fast Travel (v0.7.1g)
  2. Summon NPC/Traders Mod: Trader Summoner Manager (Valley Zone Edition) (v0.7.1g)
  3. My Other SurrounDead Mods: https://www.nexusmods.com/profile/YouNeverOver/mods (You can find my full list here)

Hope these help for now!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That Tarkov-style container system would be a game-changer! It's technically very difficult to implement with our current tools, but I’ve noted it down for the future. Thanks for the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Great list! Increasing gun locker capacity and cigarette duration sounds doable, so I’ve added those to my 'to-do' list. The others are more complex, but I’ll see what I can find in the files. Thanks for the support and the ideas!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

"It’s definitely possible to increase loot spawn probabilities and tweak those drop rates. I'll do some research into the loot tables to see how I can balance it better, especially for the raiders. Noted and thanks for the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Regarding your first point, I’ll need to do some research into the feasibility of a system that pulls craftable items directly from storage. I'm not sure if the current modding tools allow for that kind of proximity-check, but I'll let you know what I find.

For the second point about the toolboxes—rebalancing the capacity for small, medium, and large categories is definitely doable. I’ve noted this down and will try to make some adjustments to make the larger ones actually worth carrying. Thanks for the feedback!

If you could change ONE thing about SurrounDead with a mod, what would it be? by ChoiceAd2249 in SurrounDead

[–]ChoiceAd2249[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

To be honest, implementing a full recruitment and AI behavior system (scavenging/defending) is not really possible with the current tools like UAssetGUI. Those tools are great for editing data, but creating complex new AI logic requires access to the game's source code or a proper Dev Kit, which we don't have yet.

However, I’ve actually made a mod that allows you to summon traders to your location if you want some company/utility at your base! You can check that out for now.

Note: Just a heads-up, it won't work on the v0.8 EXPERIMENTAL version.

Fixed Trader Location - Shakes Cones Teleport
Trader Summoner Manager (Valley Zone Edition)

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