Humans Vs Zombies

[MrJKapowey]

Sooo...

Does anyone on this server play HvZ? Do any of you know of it's existance? I'm just wondering because over in America it seems to be far more widespread than here in good ol' Blighty where I've only heard of around 4 or 5 groups actively doing games.

For those who don't have any idea what I'm going on about, here are some links and a spoiler'd description...

Spoiler! :

Basically: zombies tag humans, humans shoot zombies with Nerf guns. Zombies respawn after a certain amount of time (usually a negligible fraction of the game length) whilst humans are converted to zombies at a touch. There are often missions to keep both sides busy (e.g. Protect the scientist as he works on a vaccine) and games go for greatly varying lengths of time (Some have had thousands of participants and have gone on for weeks, interspersed with normal Uni life. Others have 20-50 participants and run for a day at a chosen venue (some field)). This sounds comprehensive enough from memory...

A good video to show what it's like (Northampton HvZ):


The wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humans_vs_zombies
The game's Wikia page:
http://wiki.humansvszombies.org/index.php/Main_Page
The Youtube channel for the majority of the official HvZ Northampton videos (The first and largest UK HvZ game base):
http://www.youtube.com/user/AwesomeBrit ... svb3SMMdwQ

So, I'm currently one half of the HvZ High Wycombe 'leadership' (Those who have founded it, been to the most games and (thus far) been the only ones to volunteer to create and moderate games) and we're playing our first game later in the year after the first attempt sank without a trace (no interest) and I just wanted to knowhow many of you guys played this game. Also - Do you think it's either:

A - cool
B - nerdy, but fun
C - nerdy, and not fun
D - laughably nerdy and your views on me have been permenantly lowered to the 'mock you when I see you' level after finding out I play it.

[ojamamask]

B probably, I don't feel like doing something like this at this given time.

[andy25100]

I heard about this but it was at a CQB airsoft range in New York also they have an official website http://humansvszombies.org/

Edit: Just watched the documentary and have picked what weapons i will use when i go to uni and if there isn't a group there i will change that as this looks like an awesome game to play so change my vote to 'something i plan on doing'

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

Looks interesting, but it would be much better with Airsoft guns. Nerf guns are just terribad.

[vallorn]

Looks interesting, but it would be much better with Airsoft guns. Nerf guns are just terribad.

this

[MrJKapowey]

Looks interesting, but it would be much better with Airsoft guns. Nerf guns are just terribad.

Why? Provide for me as many reasons why AS would be better than Nerf as you can. I'll come back in a bit with the counter since I'm supposed to be doing H/W atm...

[TyrasEngineer]

Hi, I'm the other half of the High Wycombe leadership. The main problems with the use of Airsoft weaponry is that (while cool), it is prohibitively costly, cannot be played in public spaces due to safety issues and since a lot of it is replica weaponry, there could be issues with well meaning members of the public getting freaked out and calling the police.

Anyway, Nerf guns are pretty bad if (like some of the Northampton weapons) they leave bruises at 50 feet.

[MrJKapowey]

Goddamn, most of my arguments stolen from my mouth...

[TyrasEngineer]

Also note that the video is an older one. Northampton regularly gets player numbers of around fifty, and while this may seem small, the numbers are steadily increasing. Of course, in America, where the game originated, there have even been games of 1000 participants as entire university campuses take part. Not sure whether or not High Wycombe will get that big though .

Edit: Just watched the documentary and have picked what weapons i will use when i go to uni and if there isn't a group there i will change that as this looks like an awesome game to play so change my vote to 'something i plan on doing'

What weapons do you intend to use? If you are just starting I'd recommend the cheesily-named Alpha Trooper, as it combines rapid firing with a relatively compact size and low jam rate.

[RobipodSupreme]

B, certainly. Woot, NERF, etc.

[TyrasEngineer]

Oh, also the British groups (to the best of my knowledge) play the home-grown Northampton ruleset. This differs from the typical American ruleset in that a game can be played over the space of a day, with quick-fire missions rather than the week-long American epics. These games are obviously easier to organise and more accessible, meaning we get more players

[andy25100]

Edit: Just watched the documentary and have picked what weapons i will use when i go to uni and if there isn't a group there i will change that as this looks like an awesome game to play so change my vote to 'something i plan on doing'

What weapons do you intend to use? If you are just starting I'd recommend the cheesily-named Alpha Trooper, as it combines rapid firing with a relatively compact size and low jam rate.

I liked the look of the longshot but its not for a year at least as most of the people i know aren't interested in stuff like this

[RobipodSupreme]

I would recommend Maverick as a starter weapon, it's light, fairly reliable (for me), and you can get good deals with two in quite a lot of places. If you want to spend big straight away, go for one of the magazine ones.
Or that's how I see it. But Tyrese knows much more about it than me.

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

Lol, the NERF guns I've seen can't even shoot 50 feet. I guess the ones you guys get are built better.

[TyrasEngineer]

It's a long way but you could always try and get to one of the other games in the UK (The Humans vs Zombies UK facebook group keeps a directory). Otherwise, just try asking- a load of people at my school didn't seem like the type of people who'd play, now some of them are coming to the High Wycombe game when it starts and one or two have come with us to a Winchester game.

Edit: Looking through the directory, the nearest game to York would be Leicester. Not ideal, and they play irregularly at best.

With regards to the Longshot, as an owner, I can say that they are fun to use due to the bolt-action style priming handle and front gun. However they are quite expensive and in terms of range they don't out-perform even the Nite Finder, which is the cheapest readily available blaster in the UK. It's definitely not a good one to start on.

Lol, the NERF guns I've seen can't even shoot 50 feet. I guess the ones you guys get are built better.

This is only after their owners replaced springs and internal parts, even rebarreling them. No Nerf gun shoots like that out of the box. In any case, range isn't really a concern for HvZ- you tend to come across zombie "Ambushes" rather than long range firefights. And since they have to charge at you to tag you, something that can unload a lot of darts quickly will have a better chance of hitting them than one insanely powerful dart.

[andy25100]

looks like i'll have to wait but thanks for looking at it anyway.

[TyrasEngineer]

Oh well, good things come to those who wait .

[RobipodSupreme]

unless you're waiting on the edge of a cliff, in the rain, with waves battering its base. for example.

[MrJKapowey]

... and then the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter arrives after you wait for 30 terrifying minutes, ferrying you to safety!

[RobipodSupreme]

and then you meet a beautiful (female or male, depending on preference) rescue man/woman, and live a long and fulfilling life with him/her. So you see, good things do come to those who wait.

[MrJKapowey]

Thus disproving your point...

[Wildwill002]

It seems that its best to wait on cliffs then...

[andy25100]

Well i think we've all learnt something special today

[Sti_Jo_Lew]

To ze cliffs!

[697134002]

Humans Vs Raptors would be a lot more fun. (By raptors, I mean Utahraptors, the stereotypical velociraptors of Jurassic Park)

[RobipodSupreme]

Well now that I've seen the futility of pessimism, yay! Raptors!