ALiVE.OS · ALiVE 3 Development
Zombie Outbreak
A game mode that turns an ALiVE mission into a zombie outbreak: hordes held by an AI Commander, roaming as virtual groups, and attacking everyone who isn't a zombie once players are near.
New in ALiVE 3
ALiVE 3 is in active development. This briefing describes work in progress, and the behaviour it covers is subject to change as testing continues. Check the changelog at the foot of the page for what has moved recently.
On this page
Overview
What Zombie Outbreak does
Outbreak is a Game Mode on the ALiVE Required module. Set it, give the zombies a side of their own, and list the zombie factions on the Virtual AI System. Everything else is ALiVE as you know it: Military Placement puts the horde on the map, an AI Commander moves it from objective to objective, and the Virtual AI keeps every group alive across the whole map while only the ones near players exist as real units.
The zombies come from WebKnight's Zombies and Creatures, and any faction can be turned into them: townsfolk, dead soldiers, a mod's units. Once a group is real, WebKnight's mod decides how each zombie moves and fights soldiers. ALiVE adds the rest: zombie groups that fight while virtual, a fast zombie leading each group, zombies that go after civilians and anyone else the mod leaves alone, and the dead rising as zombies. Standard missions are untouched: nothing on this page happens unless Game Mode is Outbreak, apart from the Runner lead and the compiled-zombie clothes fix, which apply whenever WebKnight's mod is loaded.
Setting up
The modules an Outbreak mission needs
Two settings on modules every ALiVE mission already has, and a commander with a zombie faction. This is how it looks in the editor. The "Outbreak: zombies hold an area" preset places the modules for you; you place the players.
- Load the zombie modsWebKnight's Zombies and Creatures with Improved Melee System, or WebKnight's DEV zombies with IMS: DEV, in the editor and on the server. Eden names any that are missing when you preview.
- Set the game modeOn ALiVE Required, Game Mode Outbreak and a Zombie Side. Set it before you open any faction list. That side is made the enemy of every other side except civilians, so give it to the zombies alone: a human on it can be bitten but can't shoot back.
- Name the zombie factionsOn the Virtual AI System, Zombie Factions: WBK_AI_ZHAMBIES, CIV_F for infected townsfolk, or any other faction. Each man is made a zombie as he spawns.
- Give a commander the zombiesA Military AI Commander and a Military Placement on the zombie faction, synced as for any other faction, with Force Weighting: Infantry. Add a Military Placement (Civ. Obj.) as well to put zombies in the towns. With Game Mode set, every placement module offers civilian factions, labelled CIVILIAN (as zombies).
How it works
From a virtual horde to a bite
Far from players a zombie group is virtual and fights by numbers. Near a player it becomes real: WebKnight's mod goes for soldiers of other sides, and ALiVE sends the zombies after everyone else who isn't a zombie.
- Away from players, zombies are virtualA faction listed in Zombie Factions fights hand to hand in virtual combat: each zombie does Zombie Melee Damage a round to an infantry group, and nothing to anyone in a vehicle.
- Near a player, they become realInside the Virtual AI's Spawn Radius the group spawns as WebKnight's zombies. If it has a Runner, a Runner takes the lead and the Walkers trail behind. A group of only Walkers or Crawlers keeps its slow pace.
- Soldiers come firstWebKnight's mod drives the zombies at soldiers of other sides that it knows about. ALiVE points out any hostile soldier within 30 m, so a horde doesn't walk past a rifleman to reach a farmer. Captives are left alone.
- Then ALiVE sends them after everyone elseThe mod leaves civilians, players in civilian slots and humans on the zombie side alone, so ALiVE chases the nearest of them within Zombie Hunt Range itself. Soldiers of other sides fight back, or run if they have no gun; civilians and same-side humans can only run. Anyone inside a vehicle is ignored.
- The biteA zombie within about 2 m bites every 1.5 s for Zombie Bite Damage: four bites at the default 0.3. The zombie is named as the killer.
- The dead get upWith Zombie Infection on, anyone a zombie kills outside a vehicle rises as a zombie a few seconds later in the same clothes, players included, up to Zombie Infection Cap standing at once. Then the hunt starts again.
Capabilities
What Outbreak does
Checked before the mission starts
Outbreak needs WebKnight's Zombies and Creatures (Workshop 2789152015) with Improved Melee System (2291129343), or WebKnight's DEV zombies (3566432930) with IMS: DEV (3510959070). Previewing in Eden without them shows a notification naming each missing mod and its Workshop ID.
The mission ends and says why
If a required mod is missing when the mission starts, the startup screen shows a red line naming it, everyone gets a message, and the mission ends ten seconds later. A player joining in that window is turned away. It never runs as Standard instead.
Any faction can be the zombies
List a faction in Zombie Factions and every man in it is made a zombie as he spawns: he keeps his clothes and loses his guns. CIV_F gives you infected townsfolk, BLU_F dead soldiers, and a mod's faction works too. A faction with no groups of its own, every civilian faction included, gets 16 groups of 6 to 12 men to place. A Faction Compiler faction keeps its own groups and moves to the zombie side.
WebKnight's own faction, ready to place
WebKnight's mod has one faction, WBK Zombies (WBK_AI_ZHAMBIES), and no groups. With it loaded, ALiVE gives that faction ten OPFOR groups: civilian hordes, packs and runners, infected NATO, CSAT, AAF, FIA and LDF squads, special infected and leapers.
Give the zombies a side of their own
Zombie Side is made the enemy of every other side except civilians. Humans on that side are bitten like anyone else but can't shoot back, because a side never fires on itself, so pick a side no human faction uses. An AI Commander on the zombie side with a human faction logs a warning. The human sides keep the mission's own relations.
Everyone who isn't a zombie
WebKnight's mod sends the zombies after soldiers of other sides. ALiVE sends them after everyone else within Zombie Hunt Range: civilians, players in civilian slots, and humans on the zombie side. Soldiers of other sides fight back, or run if they have no gun. Civilians and humans on the zombie side can't fight back: they run, the AI ones in a short dash away.
Garrisons leave their post to chase
A zombie group ALiVE has garrisoned chases prey that comes within 60 m of its post. When the chase ends, or the prey gets further away than that, the zombies walk back and hold again at the same spot, facing the same way in the same stance.
The dead get up again
With Zombie Infection on, anyone a zombie kills outside a vehicle rises as a zombie a few seconds later in the same clothes: civilians, soldiers of any side and players. A player still respawns the way the mission is set up, and the zombie of his body can go after other players. Zombie Infection Cap keeps the risen from filling the map.
Zombies fight hand to hand while virtual
Away from players, a zombie faction's groups do Zombie Melee Damage per zombie each round against infantry, and can't hurt anyone inside a vehicle.
A Runner leads the group
WebKnight's Walkers shamble, and a group led by one barely moves. ALiVE puts a faster zombie in the lead, so a mixed group moves at a run with the Walkers trailing. A group of only Walkers or Crawlers keeps its slow pace, as the mod intends.
The zombie is named as the killer
A bite kill names the zombie as the killer. A civilian killed by a zombie still counts as a civilian casualty, but it doesn't turn the town against a human faction.
Compiled zombies keep their clothes
A Faction Compiler faction built from WebKnight's zombies used to spawn in underwear. Units their mod dresses by script now dress first and keep their own kit in any slot the template left empty.
Supply caches in fallen towns
With Supply Caches on, the Virtual AI System hides crates in houses for players to find: a gun or two from the AI Commanders' factions with magazines that fit, first aid kits, food and water, and now and then a backpack. By default they turn up only in towns that have fallen, so they appear as the outbreak spreads. Each town gets one at most, never within 300 m of a player, and the crate matches the era (a S.O.G. mission gets S.O.G. ammo boxes).
How to use it
Getting started
- Load the modsLoad WebKnight's Zombies and Creatures with Improved Melee System, or the DEV zombies with IMS: DEV, in the editor and on the server.
- Set the game modeOn ALiVE Required, set Game Mode to Outbreak, then Zombie Side, which only shows once Game Mode is Outbreak, to a side no human faction in the mission uses. WBK Zombies is OPFOR. Do this first: the faction lists read the Game Mode when you open them.
- List the zombie factionsOn the Virtual AI System, put the faction classnames in Zombie Factions, separated by commas: WBK_AI_ZHAMBIES for WebKnight's own faction, CIV_F for infected townsfolk, or any other faction.
- Place the hordeAdd a Military AI Commander on the zombie faction and sync a Military Placement (Mil. Obj.) to it with the same faction, Force Weighting Infantry (zombie factions have no vehicles) and a TAOR marker round the area the zombies should hold. To put zombies in the towns as well, sync a Military Placement (Civ. Obj.) on the same faction and area. With Game Mode set, the commander and every placement module (Mil. Obj., Civ. Obj., both Custom ones and SPE) also offer civilian factions, labelled CIVILIAN (as zombies), and place a zombie faction on the zombie side.
- Place yourselvesPut the players on a human side near the area. Players in civilian slots work too: the zombies hunt them.
- Hide supply caches (optional)On the Virtual AI System set Supply Caches to Yes (it's No by default). Then pick Number of Caches (12), Caches Hidden In (Fallen Towns or Any Town), Cache Refill (60 min) and Cache Markers (Once Found). The caches need a Civilian Placement module for the towns, and a Civilian Population module to count who's left in them. Players open a cache like any ammo box. Once one is emptied, a new one is hidden in another town after Cache Refill minutes.
- Or start from the presetThe "Outbreak: zombies hold an area" preset places seven modules round a ZOMBIE_AREA marker: the Outbreak settings, one zombie commander with a Company (100) of zombie groups on the military objectives and another on the towns, and townspeople for them to hunt. Place yourselves as NATO nearby.
Settings
Every setting, and what it does
Outbreak's settings are on two modules every ALiVE mission already has. None of them do anything unless Game Mode is Outbreak.
Quick setups
Infected townsfolk instead of WebKnight's horde
- Zombie Factions: CIV_F
- Zombie Side: OPFOR
The commander and placement modules then use CIV_F, listed as CIVILIAN (as zombies). Keep OPFOR free of human factions.
Zombies that only go for soldiers
- Zombie Hunt Range: 0
ALiVE stops sending zombies after civilians and same-side humans; WebKnight's mod still drives them at soldiers.
The dead stay dead
- Zombie Infection: No
Nobody a zombie kills gets up again, so the horde never grows past what was placed.
Supply caches from the start, shown on the map
- Supply Caches: Yes
- Caches Hidden In: Any Town
- Cache Markers: Always
Every town can hold a cache from the first minute, and each one shows as a green marker as soon as it's hidden.
ALiVE Required: Game Mode
2 settings
Choices: Standard, Outbreak
Standard is ALiVE as it has always been. Outbreak is a zombie outbreak and needs WebKnight's zombies and a melee mod loaded; without them the mission doesn't start, and says which mod is missing.
AffectsWhether any Outbreak behaviour runs, which faction lists offer civilian factions, and the loading-screen logo.
TryOutbreak, with the mods loaded.
Choices: OPFOR, BLUFOR, Independent
The side the zombie factions are on. It is made the enemy of every other side except civilians, which ALiVE sends the zombies after itself. Give the zombies a side no human faction uses: humans on the zombie side are bitten too but can't shoot back, and that side's relations with the others are overruled.
AffectsThat side's relations for the whole mission; the other sides keep the mission's own.
TryOPFOR, with the humans on BLUFOR and Independent.
Virtual AI System: Outbreak Game Mode
12 settings
Choices: Faction classnames
Faction classnames, separated by commas, whose groups are zombies. Any faction works, a civilian or compiled one included: each man is made a zombie as he spawns, keeping his clothes and losing his guns.
AffectsWhich groups are zombies.
TryWBK_AI_ZHAMBIES, or CIV_F for townsfolk.
Choices: A number, 0 or more
Damage one zombie does each round of virtual combat against an infantry group. 0.015 matches a rifleman; 0 means zombies never hurt anyone in virtual combat. Zombies can't hurt anyone inside a vehicle.
AffectsVirtual combat only.
Try0.02 for a deadlier horde.
Choices: Metres, 0 turns it off
How far in metres a real zombie group looks for people the zombie mod won't attack: civilians, players in civilian slots and humans on the zombie side. A soldier nearby still comes first. 0 turns the hunt off.
AffectsSpawned zombie groups only.
Try200 for zombies that notice people from further off.
Choices: 0 to 1
Damage each bite does, from 0 to 1. A zombie within about 2 m bites every 1.5 s. The zombie is named as the killer.
AffectsPeople bitten by real zombies.
Try0.15 for seven bites, so people have time to get away.
Choices: Yes, No
Anyone a zombie kills outside a vehicle gets up again as a zombie a few seconds later, in the same clothes: civilians, soldiers of any side and players. A player still respawns as the mission is set up, and the zombie of his body can go after other players.
AffectsWhether the horde grows.
TryNo for a fixed horde.
Choices: No, Yes
Hides supply crates in houses in the towns for players to find: a gun or two from the AI Commanders' own factions with magazines that fit, first aid kits, food and water, and now and then a backpack. One town holds one cache at most, and none is hidden within 300 m of a player. Needs a Civilian Placement module for the towns and an AI Commander for the guns.
AffectsOutbreak game mode only. Runs on the server.
TryYes for a scavenging mission.
Choices: A number, 1 to 50
How many caches are hidden at once. Anything outside 1 to 50 is held to that range, and a value that isn't a whole number falls back to 12 with a line in the RPT.
AffectsNever more caches than there are towns to hide them in.
Try6 to make supplies scarce.
Choices: Fallen Towns, Any Town
Fallen Towns hides caches only in towns that have fallen: fewer than a quarter of the people counted there are left, or zombies are within 250 m of the town centre and fewer than 60% are left. A town stays fallen once it falls, so caches appear as the outbreak spreads. Any Town hides them in every town from the start.
AffectsCounting people needs a Civilian Population module. Without one, a town counts as fallen only once zombies are in it.
TryAny Town to give players supplies from the first minute.
Choices: A number, 0 to 1440
Minutes after players empty a cache (fewer than 30% of its items left) before it's taken away and a new one is hidden in another town. It's only taken away while no player is within 300 m. 0 leaves an emptied cache where it is and hides no new one.
AffectsHow fast supplies come back.
Try0 for a fixed number of caches over the whole mission.
Choices: Once Found, Never, Always
When a cache shows on the map as a green "Supply cache" marker: Once Found shows it after a player has come within 12 m of it, Never shows no markers, and Always shows it as soon as it's hidden. A shown marker turns grey, "Supply cache (empty)", once the cache is emptied.
AffectsMap markers only; the crates are there either way.
TryAlways while testing.
Choices: Class names, comma separated
Leave it empty for the automatic loot. Or list what every cache holds, separated by commas, as a class name or class:min-max, for example arifle_MX_F:1-1, 30Rnd_65x39_caseless_mag:3-6, FirstAidKit:2-4. A list replaces the automatic loot completely. Classes this game doesn't have are left out, with a line in the RPT.
AffectsWhat's in every cache.
TryA short list of the mission's own kit.
Choices: A number
The most risen zombies at once, counting the dead about to rise, so a burst of deaths can't go over it. Risen zombies are not Virtual AI groups and are never put away when players leave, so this keeps a long fight from filling the map. While the cap is reached, the dead stay dead.
AffectsRisen zombies only, not placed groups.
Try20 on a busy server.
Good to know
Before you build one
- Keep humans off the zombie sideThe engine never lets a side fire on itself, so a human on the zombie side can be bitten but can't shoot back. An AI Commander on the zombie side that has a human faction logs a warning.
- Only real zombies hunt and infectNobody is a target for the hunt in virtual combat. The chase, the bite and the rising happen only while a zombie group is spawned near a player.
- List the civilian faction as zombies tooA civilian faction picked on the commander or a placement module must also be in Zombie Factions on the Virtual AI System; if it isn't, the RPT says so.
- Infantry onlyZombie factions have no vehicles, so set the placement's Force Weighting to Infantry.
- It runs where the zombies areThe hunt runs on the server and on any headless client, so a zombie group moved to one keeps hunting.
- The loading screen knowsAn Outbreak mission shows the Outbreak logo, or a zombie version of the Easter and Christmas logos in those seasons. Halloween's logo wins over everything on 31 October.
- Caches need townsSupply caches need a Civilian Placement module for the towns and an AI Commander for the guns. Without a Civilian Population module, a town only counts as fallen once zombies are in it.
Status
Where it stands
Game Mode and Zombie Side
On ALiVE Required, with a required-mods check in Eden and at mission start.
WBK Zombies groups
Ten groups for WebKnight's faction, loaded only with the mod.
Virtual zombie combat
Melee damage against infantry, none against vehicles.
Runner leads
Mixed zombie groups move at a run.
Civilian hunt
Zombies chase and bite civilians, civilian-slot players included.
Outbreak preset
Any faction as zombies
Civilian, soldier and mod factions turned into zombies as they spawn; civilian factions in Eden's faction lists.
Infection
The dead rise as zombies, with a cap.
Same-side humans
Zombies go after humans on their own side; unarmed people run.
DEV zombies
WebKnight's DEV zombies with IMS: DEV.
Garrison chase
Garrisoned zombies chase prey within 60 m of their post, then go back to it.
Every placement module
Mil. Obj., Civ. Obj., both Custom placements and SPE can all field zombies.
Supply caches
Crates of guns, magazines, first aid and food hidden in fallen towns, replaced in another town once emptied.
Testing
How you can help
Load WebKnight's Zombies and Creatures and Improved Melee System, place the "Outbreak: zombies hold an area" preset on Stratis or Altis, and play as NATO near the area. You should see zombie hordes holding the military objectives and the towns inside it, each group led by a sprinter. Once you are within about 1.5 km, watch a zombie group go after the townspeople within its Zombie Hunt Range; a civilian they kill should get up again as a zombie. Then preview the same mission without one of the mods: Eden should name it, and in the mission it should end itself after ten seconds. To test supply caches, set Supply Caches to Yes, Caches Hidden In to Any Town, Cache Markers to Always and Cache Refill to 1. Green "Supply cache" markers should appear in towns, never within 300 m of you. Open a crate: it should hold a gun or two with magazines, first aid kits and food or water. Empty it and the marker should turn grey; walk more than 300 m away and about a minute later it should be gone, with a new cache in another town.
Spotted a problem? Please report it on the ALiVE issue tracker on GitHub, with the map, rough location and what the units were doing so it can be reproduced.
Changelog
Updates to this page
- 2026-10-31New Supply Caches settings on the Virtual AI module: crates hidden in houses in fallen towns, with a gun or two from the mission's own factions, magazines, first aid, food and water. Off by default.
- 2026-10-29Garrisoned zombies now chase prey that comes within 60 m of their post, then walk back and hold again at the same spot, facing the same way in the same stance. Before, a garrison stood still while a civilian walked past it.
- 2026-10-29In Outbreak every placement module can field zombies: Mil. Obj., Civ. Obj., both Custom placements and SPE put a zombie faction on the zombie side, and their faction lists offer civilian factions as zombies. Zombie Side on ALiVE Required only shows once Game Mode is Outbreak, and the Outbreak settings sit at the bottom of the Virtual AI System.
- 2026-10-29Any faction can be the zombies, civilian factions included, and anyone the zombies kill gets up as one a few seconds later, in their own clothes, up to Zombie Infection Cap (40). New Virtual AI settings: Zombie Infection and Zombie Infection Cap. Unarmed enemy soldiers run; armed ones stand and fire.
- 2026-10-29Outbreak also starts with WebKnight's DEV zombies and IMS: DEV (Workshop 3510959070), as well as the stable zombies with Improved Melee System.
- 2026-10-29Zombies hunt civilians and players in civilian slots, which WebKnight's zombies never go for on their own. New Virtual AI settings: Zombie Hunt Range (100 m, 0 turns it off) and Zombie Bite Damage (0.3 a bite). A soldier nearby still comes first, and civilians run.
- 2026-10-29New addon compatibility_wbk gives WebKnight's WBK Zombies faction ten OPFOR groups, each led by a sprinter, so Military Placement and the AI Commander can field it without the Faction Compiler. It loads only with WebKnight's mod.
- 2026-10-29Previewing an Outbreak mission in Eden without its required mods now shows a notification naming each missing mod and its Workshop ID.
- 2026-10-29New game mode: set Game Mode to Outbreak on ALiVE Required for a zombie outbreak with WebKnight's zombies. Zombie Side picks the zombies' side, which goes to war with every side but civilians; the Virtual AI System takes the zombie factions and their melee damage. Without the mods the mission names what's missing and ends.
- 2026-10-29A group of WebKnight's zombies follows a Runner instead of a slow Walker, so a mixed group moves at a run. Walker-only groups keep their slow pace.