Post by kehllz on Feb 19, 2009 0:56:49 GMT
They’re Not Dead Yet
Harmanz Kehllz
Everyone who occupied the city of Malton during early 2008 remembers one zombie group that ravaged the city in a single month, almost achieving the ultimate goal for the zombie scourge, an entire map classified as “Very Dangerous.” They possessed a simple but fitting name, The Dead. Their glory days have passed now and much of Malton has recovered from their rampage but with many of the old-timers leaving and new people joining in, the Dead is becoming a by word to be whispered in well-caded safe houses, not a vivid memory of wanton destruction that it once was.
Since this week marks a year after the beginning f their rampage, it might be fitting to briefly cover their history and update many on what has happened to them and their current impact on Malton. The Dead formed on a large forum website unrelated to Urban Dead. When the members of this forum were introduced to Urban Dead, they determined that they would attempt to destroy all humans and win the game for zombie kind. The speed with which they joined and the level of coordination amongst them caused the group to literally appear overnight, massing in the suburb of Dunell Hills. This led to the first of the many accusations that would follow them throughout their history of abusing alternate accounts, some of which were true, others of which were not. What was amazing was how quickly they grew and how successful they were. The Dead managed to form many Urban Dead records that may very well remain unbroken for some time. During their hay-day, they managed to establish a thirty-one to sixty-nine survivor to zombie ratio and hold it from the 24th of March until the 26th of that same month. They also succeeded in both the most suburbs classified as “Very Dangerous,” seventy-nine, on the Urban Dead Wiki’s Suburb Danger Report Map as well as the least “Safe” suburbs on the same map, zero. They also managed to form one of the largest groups in Urban Dead history, numbering well over two-hundred at one point with some rumors stating three-hundred which have yet to be substantiated.
It is to be noted that these numbers and successes were not done merely by zerging. As word of mouth spread many ferals and smaller zombie groups rushed to join the rampage that was sweeping through Malton, feeding the numbers. This rapid growth combined with clear communication and cooperation with other zombie groups allowed them to decimate the living population. However, the rampage of the Dead was not to last.
To combat the threat, Urban Dead’s designer, Kevan Davis, increased the search rates of revivification needles to allow survivors to more easily combat the threat and even out the ratios. This happened to coincide around the same time that the Dead’s rampage drew near to visiting the last place on its original list. The combination of these two factors ultimately resulted in a dispersal of the zombie numbers, some wandering off to new and easier targets and some returning to their old suburbs to return to their previous way of unlife. Many of the original members of the Dead, realizing their goal to destroy all humans wasn’t meant to be quit the game never to return. Those members that remained with the Dead drifted east into the Dunell Hills area, a place that had a significant to the group since many of its members had begun their Urban Dead careers in that area.
Although the greater Malton area is no longer their undead claw, the men and women of the Dunell Hills area still can’t be lax. Bulldog C6 was quoted saying “It's gotten a bit more relaxed [since the Dead’s earlier days], but you still can't just sit behind your barricades and sleep.” Bulldog C6, known as BD, is a two year veteran of the Dunell Hills Police Department and leader of their Delta Squad. When asked about the effects on the DHPD BD stated, “We've had to get extremely crafty and mobile,” as well as mentioning that the recent pro-zombie updates have caused them to make significant changes in their game playing style. But the Dead, he says, “have become less and less of a problem in the Hills as the days go by. Their interest is dropping, and they've become a bit irked that we didn't just quit our game and run home crying.” Dunell Hills still rarely sees itself safer than a “Dangerous” rating on the wiki Suburb Danger Map, but it more and more often falls beneath the red.
While the Dead are no longer a threat to the greater Malton, the eastern suburbs are still plagued by their assaults. They still number in over one hundred fifty as of writing, the largest group in Urban Dead and the second highest ranked. The residents of the Dunell Hills area have found their beloved suburbs under siege by a threat that is thought to have passed by many, many of whom don’t want to believe it still exists.
______________________________________________
Here's the article. Any complaints about it I'll forward to my editor before publication (Saturday) and do my best to fix them.
Harmanz Kehllz
Everyone who occupied the city of Malton during early 2008 remembers one zombie group that ravaged the city in a single month, almost achieving the ultimate goal for the zombie scourge, an entire map classified as “Very Dangerous.” They possessed a simple but fitting name, The Dead. Their glory days have passed now and much of Malton has recovered from their rampage but with many of the old-timers leaving and new people joining in, the Dead is becoming a by word to be whispered in well-caded safe houses, not a vivid memory of wanton destruction that it once was.
Since this week marks a year after the beginning f their rampage, it might be fitting to briefly cover their history and update many on what has happened to them and their current impact on Malton. The Dead formed on a large forum website unrelated to Urban Dead. When the members of this forum were introduced to Urban Dead, they determined that they would attempt to destroy all humans and win the game for zombie kind. The speed with which they joined and the level of coordination amongst them caused the group to literally appear overnight, massing in the suburb of Dunell Hills. This led to the first of the many accusations that would follow them throughout their history of abusing alternate accounts, some of which were true, others of which were not. What was amazing was how quickly they grew and how successful they were. The Dead managed to form many Urban Dead records that may very well remain unbroken for some time. During their hay-day, they managed to establish a thirty-one to sixty-nine survivor to zombie ratio and hold it from the 24th of March until the 26th of that same month. They also succeeded in both the most suburbs classified as “Very Dangerous,” seventy-nine, on the Urban Dead Wiki’s Suburb Danger Report Map as well as the least “Safe” suburbs on the same map, zero. They also managed to form one of the largest groups in Urban Dead history, numbering well over two-hundred at one point with some rumors stating three-hundred which have yet to be substantiated.
It is to be noted that these numbers and successes were not done merely by zerging. As word of mouth spread many ferals and smaller zombie groups rushed to join the rampage that was sweeping through Malton, feeding the numbers. This rapid growth combined with clear communication and cooperation with other zombie groups allowed them to decimate the living population. However, the rampage of the Dead was not to last.
To combat the threat, Urban Dead’s designer, Kevan Davis, increased the search rates of revivification needles to allow survivors to more easily combat the threat and even out the ratios. This happened to coincide around the same time that the Dead’s rampage drew near to visiting the last place on its original list. The combination of these two factors ultimately resulted in a dispersal of the zombie numbers, some wandering off to new and easier targets and some returning to their old suburbs to return to their previous way of unlife. Many of the original members of the Dead, realizing their goal to destroy all humans wasn’t meant to be quit the game never to return. Those members that remained with the Dead drifted east into the Dunell Hills area, a place that had a significant to the group since many of its members had begun their Urban Dead careers in that area.
Although the greater Malton area is no longer their undead claw, the men and women of the Dunell Hills area still can’t be lax. Bulldog C6 was quoted saying “It's gotten a bit more relaxed [since the Dead’s earlier days], but you still can't just sit behind your barricades and sleep.” Bulldog C6, known as BD, is a two year veteran of the Dunell Hills Police Department and leader of their Delta Squad. When asked about the effects on the DHPD BD stated, “We've had to get extremely crafty and mobile,” as well as mentioning that the recent pro-zombie updates have caused them to make significant changes in their game playing style. But the Dead, he says, “have become less and less of a problem in the Hills as the days go by. Their interest is dropping, and they've become a bit irked that we didn't just quit our game and run home crying.” Dunell Hills still rarely sees itself safer than a “Dangerous” rating on the wiki Suburb Danger Map, but it more and more often falls beneath the red.
While the Dead are no longer a threat to the greater Malton, the eastern suburbs are still plagued by their assaults. They still number in over one hundred fifty as of writing, the largest group in Urban Dead and the second highest ranked. The residents of the Dunell Hills area have found their beloved suburbs under siege by a threat that is thought to have passed by many, many of whom don’t want to believe it still exists.
______________________________________________
Here's the article. Any complaints about it I'll forward to my editor before publication (Saturday) and do my best to fix them.