HNZ ZOMBIES
These are the people who contracted the HNZ virus, and suffered intensely slowed heart rate, metabolism, a complete disconnect from pain receptors, and are stripped of all but the basest of instincts: to find, hunt, and feed. And if you are not careful, then you will might end up as one of these infected masses. There are three important knowings as to the zombie behavior and health.

- Movement of the infected
- Spawning patterns of the infected
- Health of the infected

Movement:
The HNZ victims show behavior just like good ol' Romero's shambling zombies. They are, for the most part, very slow, and can be easily outrun and outmanuevered. This slow movement however is countered by the fact that they are persistant S.O.B.s, and they will follow you for a very long time if they are not taken care of. These zombies also tend to group up too, as you run past others, they will join the ravenous herd behind you. It seems that they will stay stationary, and walk aimlessly, until they hear a noise created by you or are spurred by a visual stimuli (thats you, too.) Fat zombies' spot/hear ranges seem to be the same as a normal zombie's. They now spawn in huge hoards and roam as of build 13.

Spawning:
The spawn rates are partially random, but can differ between rural areas and cities. They can spawn everywhere and anywhere, so exercize extreme caution when rounding a corner or opening a door. Also just like classic Romero zombies, HNZ zombies tend come out at night in droves. The spawn rate for them is dramatically increased in the later hours, and there is an added danger of horde travel. So when you see that sun coming down, rush to the nearest shelter. As for the fat zombies, they spawn rarer than a normal zombie, but are more common than zombie dogs.

Health:
The HNZ zombies cannot feel pain, however, one thing remains deadly for them if you do finally find yourself in a face-to-face encounter with them and that is: a headshot. Here in the zombie apocalypse, headshots are an absolute necessity, and is the way to dispatch even the most stubborn of zombies. The zombies in TDL at its current alpha build are at 80 health, which is about 1-3 head shots from a melee weapon, or just one head shot with a firearm (any type). Fat zombies have the same health stats, and take the same amount of hits as its skinier counterparts. Both of which cannot be killed by body shots, however.

HNZ DOGS/ The Stray
It turns out that the hnz virus is not exclusive to the human population. It has spread to dogs, who seem to exact identical symptoms to their afflicted human counterparts, save for one great advantage: their unrivalled speed.

Movement:
These are very fast, and need to be met with extreme caution. They exibit speed similar to RE zombie dogs, meaning they can move just as quickly as the players can, if not faster. Their persistance also matches the human walker's, making them much more a threat than normal infected. They also attack in packs commonly, due to their group mentality. This really makes them a force to be reckoned with. They have a very big detect radius, and usually find you before you see them, most likely due to their good sense of smell. Because of the super speed and the huge sense radius, the best way to keep your distance, is by bicycle. Zombie dogs are also idle before spotting a player.

Spawning
They are similar to the normal zombies in the fact that they can spawn differently between rural areas and cities. And as mentioned before, they spawn and usually attack in groups. However, a huge relief is that they are refreshingly less common than normal hnz zombies (1/250 of normal infected is a zombie dog). These are also a great encouragement to go inside during night, as more of these spawn alongside the normal zombies when it gets dark.

WEAPONS
There are various classes of weaponry, and if you prefer not to become a midless, shambling drool-bucket, then you do yourself good by arming yourself. To begin, there are three different weapon types to familiarize yourself with:

- Firearms
- Melee weaponry
- Bows/Crossbows

FIREARMS
Whether its conducting grocery raids, or defending your home against the ever-hungry undead hordes, a gun is the way to go. For different purposes, there are different guns
- Pistols
- Rifles
- Shotguns

PISTOLS
Pistols have a semi-auto high rate of fire, and along with all other weaponry are a sure one hit kill when successfully hitting the head. Combined with over-copious amounts of ammo (especially 9mm), these are a good side weapon, and can be used from close-medium ranged attacks. There are six types of pistols that are in the current build for the game (b14).



-All types of pistols share the close-range proficiency.

RIFLES
With a slightly slower rate of fire, but better ironsights and accuracy, rifles are a good weapon for ranged endeavors, the only draw-back is the rarer ammo drop factor. However, dont let this discourage you, as the rifles are very good for a range of tasks. First there are several subdivisions of rifle: Sniper/hunting rifles, battle rifles, and assault rifles(confirmed but unrealeased).
There are currently five types of rifles in the current game build (b14)

-Sniper/hunting(above) are the go-to weapon, if you are safely clearing out zombies from a distance in an area you plan on bunkering down in. However, it is highly unadvised to use this in any type of close range combat. Instead, for that, you should quickly change to your friendly neighborhood shotgun.
-Battle rifles, are semi-auto efficient killing machines, which are used best at middle range. This is for when a zombie spots you, and begins to hobble towards you, but is a good distance away. These can also be used effectively in close-range, and long-range situations, but only if you are an experienced shot.
-Assualt Rifles are going to be introduced at a later time, these will bring full auto fire to the table, and are sure to be a ammo-guzzling blast.


SHOTGUNS
A legend in zombie killing, these guns are extremely useful for those close range attacks. Combined with huge amounts of scavengable ammo, these have a steady ammo supply to use.
There are currently two types of shotguns that are in the current build.

-There are no huge differences, rangewise or other, at the moment other than the appearances for the guns.
- Additionally, they use the same ammo, so dont worry about having to find more ammo if you decide on swapping shotguns.
- They also have the most knockback of any weapon on the current build.(b14)

BOWS & CROSSBOWS
Bows and crossbows are both a medium range, silent way to dispatch of your foes. They are mainly found in cabins located in or near the woods, but can also be found in cities. These both fire plain arrow bundles(only type in current build) that can be found bountifully found in cabins as well.

-Crossbows seem to be considerably less common than normal bows.

RELOADS (sidenote)
These are partially complete, and will be fully completed in future updates. The sounds are almost complete, but the animations arent fully implemented just yet.

MELEE
A silent alternative to a firearm, and a handy survival tool, melee weapons have a variety of uses. They are all handy weapons, and some can double as tools. There are two classes of melee weapons, and their effects, which will be introduced at a later build:

-Blade
-Blunt(left)

BLADED WEAPONS (zombie-limb damage coming later)
Bladed weapons are for the hack n' slash combat. At later updates, these will be able to slice into your infected enemies, and cut them down to size.
(ex: katana, fireaxe)

BLUNT WEAPONS (zombie-limb damage coming later)
The Blunt weapons are for brutal bone-crunching combat encounters. In later updates these will be able to break the limbs of any HNZ zombies that are unfortunate enough to persue you.
(ex: hammer, basesball bat)



TOOLS.
Tools are for the moment when your apocalpypse-ridden day is winding down, and you want to ensure your safety during the night. Tools like the fire axe and the hatchet are items for this such occasion. These can be used to cut trees into peices of wood, which can be later crafted to assemble your barricades, and zombie proofing your house (barricading, boarding, and looting.)


COMBAT
The combat system is still in development, and undergoing heavy refinement but here are several things to consider, during combat.
- hitboxes
- zombie attacks
- Bites
- Fight or Flight

(ZOMBIE) HITBOXES
The hitboxes are the areas on the body in which zombies can be affected. The head hitbox is extremely important to aim for, as it is the only way to dispatch your Stumbling foes. When the body hitbox is hit it doesn't damage the zombie, but it has a slight knockback effect. However this is a huge waste of time and ammo. "So just aim for the head, if you want that zed dead."

HNZ ZOMBIE ATTACKS
Zombie attacks mainly consist of an open handed bash, and can be easily combatable but will soon become a problem if there are three or more of them similtaneously attacking. Their attacks will grey and blur your vision, and increase your infection risk, and get worse after every additional sustained hit. These will kill you, if you approach zombies carelessly, but at least its not a bite, right?

ZOMBIE GRAPPLING AND BITES
Zombie bites are dangerous, and the main carrier of the HNZ virus that started this whole mess. It is highly important that after attacking, back away, to avoid being grappled. Not even you are immune to this virus, and if you are in the event where you are bitten, there is a chance to become a new victim, depending on your infection risk (20% or more). If infected, you have about a one-day timer before you finally succumb, and there is no known cure to HNZ. This will resurrect your recently infected counterpart, who will, indeed try to kill you.

-Infection also makes your keyboard unruly during the later stages, by inverting your moving controls at random intervals.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT
Sometimes, when there are a huge amount of zombies, the best idea isn't to fight them all. Such as when you are looting a building, and there are 30 zombies inside or outside, this is the time when you get out of there. This is because taking them all on, especially with guns, can be wasteful, and dangerous, and you can lose more ammo than you will find. If you are trying to barricade a crowded building, it would be best to take infected out from a distance with a rifle, or find a less crouded area to call home.

BOB'S ADVANTAGES
Fat zombies/ bob zombies have a heavier body mass, because of this, they do more damage, and destroy barricades quicker than the normal zombie.

BOARDING
This is the use of tools such as the axe and hammer. Boarding/barricading is a feature, as of build 009. This involves chopping down trees with a hatchet or fire axe, or finding wood piles behind a building/in a construction site, then using a hammer to attach them to a building. This is done by using c, or your interact button to pick up the wood pieces (plank/plywood), and then proceding to nail them to a building using a nail hammer, using the right mouse button. If you don't like how they are positioned, or where they are, they can easily be pried away by pointing the cursor at the board and pressing the right mouse button.
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(The tool used to nail boards.)

BARRICADING
Barricading is useful for many reasons. This gives you a safe place to stay, without having to hide on some roof somewhere, or behind a very vulnerable door. The places in a building to barricade are all of the windows and doors. however, make sure that there is no gap in any window that you have boarded. This is because zombies can, and will climb over/under your boards if there is too much open space in the barricaded area. But be careful and add multiple layers, by stacking the boards, because the zombies can break through them eventually.
Additionally, it is best to memorize the houses surrounding yours, just in case you happen to forget where it is. A slightly easier way is by remembering your coordinates of your house (these are in the top right of your screen) Remembering where your house is is important because when you run for supplies, and you will have to to survive, it can take a long time to look for it, and you might have to make do with a unboarded house at night until you can find it again (this has happened to me more times than i can count.)

LOOTING
Looting/scavenging is your only means of survival, and must be done to survive the hardships of the new, hostile enviroment that the zombie apocalpyse has brought with it. This can be done very quickly. My favorite tactic is to sprint through the house, and do a quick look-through of the rooms. If i find anything of value, i hurry up and grab it. I also out-manuever any zombies I am to encounter. Instead of going back down stairs, or through the previous point of entry, I usually break a window and jump down from the roof, or go through the door opposite of the one I came in from, if its a one-level house, because looting usually draws much unwanted attention. It could be dangerous to go the way back from where you came. It can also be helpful to mark already-looted houses by leaving their front door open.

THE DEATH PENALTY
As of build 13, when you die, you will have to loot your other body for your gear. This is located via the beacon you see in the air, marking your body's location.

FOOD
It is an imperative part to your survival efforts, and is found/looted/hunted throughout every created world. This is surviving at its basest, even more important than weapons or shelter, and is to always be left in consideration if you wish to survive. To eat food you find/hunt just go to your inventory, right click on the food, then select the eat option.

HUNTING
As of build of 11, this is a new, more challenging way of acquiring food. This can be done with a weapon, such as a gun/bow. You have to find game( deer only huntables as of b14), then kill it, then with a skinning knife found around your world, proceed to skin the animal by clicking on it. This will then turn it into an edible food source. If you want to get more hunger value out of the meal, however you can cook the meat it gives you. This can be done by making a campfire, then selecting the meat and burning it over the fire.

STARVATION
This is when your food meter on your needs bar in your inventory runs completely out. Starvation always leads to death. This is always to be kept in check, although this usually isn't a problem later in the game because you usually find a good amount of food in your backpack to survive off of.

Backpacks

To survive in TDL, you need all the supplies you can carry.