Reasons for Infected Mutation?

[nightlord]

the infection must have happened quickly as there are fridges left open, food left out, tv's left on ect. but it cant have happened that quickly as there as signs that someone tried to stop the infection from spreading[ notices, boarding up houses, police barricades ect] and there are dead zombies everywhere which shows someone tried to stop the zombies.[police]

 

[Tom.S.1994]

the infection must have happened quickly as there are fridges left open, food left out, tv's left on ect. but it cant have happened that quickly as there as signs that someone tried to stop the infection from spreading[ notices, boarding up houses, police barricades ect] and there are dead zombies everywhere which shows someone tried to stop the zombies.[police]

I think, in situations like this, it's more likely that there were people barricaded inside the houses, surviving on the food they had in their fridges/cupboards, and didn't have a chance to react before the Infected finally got inside the house. For example, when you're going through the apartment building in No Mercy, you can see some areas have barricades of desks, etc., preventing you from passing. I doubt people would've just been sitting around on an average day, watching TV, when they turned - especially not as the infection's been around for two weeks.

 

[Druckles]

Zoey: I hope I'm immune to tetanus, too.

THEY ARE IMMUNE TO THE ZOMBIE VIRUS

Glory-stealer.

 

[Druckles]

I read it first. I read faster than you hear.

 

[nightlord]

I think, in situations like this, it's more likely that there were people barricaded inside the houses, surviving on the food they had in their fridges/cupboards, and didn't have a chance to react before the Infected finally got inside the house. For example, when you're going through the apartment building in No Mercy, you can see some areas have barricades of desks, etc., preventing you from passing. I doubt people would've just been sitting around on an average day, watching TV, when they turned - especially not as the infection's been around for two weeks.

but everyone in the apartments are infected. if they barricaded themselves in then infected couldnt get in, and if the infection is spread through bites or something, i doubt everyone in the apartment would have been bit.

 

[Tom.S.1994]

So you didn't notice the giant hole in the floor, or the smashed window downstairs? Obviously the infected got in.

 

[Rizzo]

Zoey: I hope I'm immune to tetanus, too.

THEY ARE IMMUNE TO THE ZOMBIE VIRUS

How is this news? I have known about this for months! MONTHS I tell you.

For sure.

 

[nightlord]

they probably got in through the window, but how would they break such a big hole in the floor?

 

[CyberPitz]

Zoey: I hope I'm immune to tetanus, too.

THEY ARE IMMUNE TO THE ZOMBIE VIRUS

There are also little wall-talks that say "I'm with a good group of people, they are immune also!"

Apparently, there are quite a few immuners.

 

[Sam]

The boss zombies were manufactured. The normal zombies are the result of people being attacked and infected by the bosses. The boomer bile is concentrated with the infection, and was designed to infect others to take out large groups of people without losing anything important. The tank and the witch are the optimum variants, but they're too hard to make to waste on the little people. The hunter is an attempt at creating a male witch. The smoker comes from infection of someone who smokes. The carcinogens made him the way he is, being infected is just a coincidence.

 

[DEATHMASTER]

I wouldn't call crying in a corner until blatantly alerted optimum. Also is there a source to that or did you make it up?

 

[I♥HALFLIFE]

Anyone else think the game would be on some Half-life status shit if there was a developed story to it!?

Ravenholm x10

 

[Sam]

I wouldn't call crying in a corner until blatantly alerted optimum. Also is there a source to that or did you make it up?

I made it up. I thought it was obvious it wasn't real though :x

I think the boomer is just a normal fat guy who is completely wankered.

 

[Eejit]

The bosses were all created solely for gameplay purposes according to commentary. There's probably no explanation other than that.
The normal zombies are meant to have some kind of rabies. Big gaping holes there too but whatever.

 

[Dr0ndeh]

Anyone else think the game would be on some Half-life status shit if there was a developed story to it!?

Ravenholm x10

yea i do a bit, as much as im enjoying l4d i think its a little bit of a missed oppertunity in some areas.

 

[chimpmunk]

yea i do a bit, as much as im enjoying l4d i think its a little bit of a missed oppertunity in some areas.

Especially in how all campaigns are not connected together anymore...

 

[nurizeko]

My hypothesis is that it isn't an infection, Liverpool simply lost to Manchester United and football riots followed.

 

[I♥HALFLIFE]

Especially in how all campaigns are not connected together anymore...

Seriously, just imagine if rather than making up some B/S about how the story is in the dialogue and walls (which is kind of boring and bland IMO), just imagine if they actually took time to connect the environments together and developed a deeper story...ANYTHING deeper than how shallow it is now would be decent. The characters & enemies are ALMOST lovable like HL, but they lack history to them...

Dont really care if its 100% multiplayer (which is exactly what single player is, except w/ bots), Valve would secure so many more hearts with a decent story to it.

I'm bored of the game already :'( versus mode is good fun but after a few nights its like eeeh, what havent i seen yet?

 

[Reginald]

In Dead Air when you get to the last level, there are posters on the gate that say "Make sure you wear your infection mask" or something along those lines.

I know it's not air-based before you say anything, but it proves that it was a problem before the actual outbreak. Anyone zoomed right in on the LECA poster texture to see what LECA stands for?

 

[chimpmunk]

In Dead Air when you get to the last level, there are posters on the gate that say "Make sure you wear your infection mask" or something along those lines.

I know it's not air-based before you say anything, but it proves that it was a problem before the actual outbreak. Anyone zoomed right in on the LECA poster texture to see what LECA stands for?

Just because someone wrote "not airborne" on wall doesn't make it so, it could still be airborne, especially if a, much more reliable and offical, poster says so.

 

[ríomhaire]

Perhaps each boss transfers its infections itself. Hunters through biting (church guy), smokers through saliva/smoke, boomers through vomit. Doesn't work for tanks or witches though.

 

[Eejit]

Oh and how do you think they can see through walls etc? Are they telepaths? Maybe the boss zombies are actually telepathic alien wizards.

 

[Reginald]

Just because someone wrote "not airborne" on wall doesn't make it so, it could still be airborne, especially if a, much more reliable and offical, poster says so.

OK, fair enough. But not entirely the point of my post.

 

[Omnomnick]

On the start of 'The Construction Site' on Dead Air, if you read the walls it says it was a Military Experiment.

Theres someother reasons which I might go hunting for later on.

 

[Eejit]

I suspect it's gonna be more of a Shaun of the Dead level of explanation behind the Outbreak.

 

[LiquidCell]

Here's what I Thought...

Tanks - Virus mixed with high levels of testosterone and high dosage of steroid content in blood.

Witch - Mutation couldn't fully take place due to her gene pool being (rare but) incompatible with the infection. Instead, minor physical mutation occurred as she permanently became mentally unstable (losing all reasoning abilities, only being driven by anger and depression).

Smoker - What OP said. Also, high level of nicotine.

Hunter - I don't know what the hell is up with this guy... lol There's way too many possible variations why a hunter would form... so I have no definite idea..

Boomer - Obesity is finally useful.

 

[Sheepo]

Witch - Mutation couldn't fully take place due to her gene pool being (rare but) incompatible with the infection. Instead, minor physical mutation occurred as she permanently became mentally unstable (losing all reasoning abilities, only being driven by anger and depression).

And she also happens to be able to take several direct shotgun blasts... USING HER MIND!

 

[LiquidCell]

And she also happens to be able to take several direct shotgun blasts... USING HER MIND!

actually, now that you tell me lol.
The virus made her physically uber. She must be a virgin.

 

[chimpmunk]

Oh and how do you think they can see through walls etc? Are they telepaths? Maybe the boss zombies are actually telepathic alien wizards.

It's probably smell.

But we got it, you're very critical because you know that left4dead is just a game, and you want the world to know that you do.

 

[Eejit]

Actually I was trying to point out that some things were put in the game solely for balance purposes, added due to playtesting feedback.
One of these things is the boss zombies themselves.

If the infection is a modified rabies virus as Valve has indicated it could explain the normal infected with a wild stretch of the imagination. But the boss zombies? No way. Of course, it doesn't actually have to...

P.S. "It's probably smell" - lol you're one hell of a biologist! Smell that allows exact location, position and orientation information as well as degree of hurt. Psychic magic spells are more likely.

 

[Tollbooth Willie]

Hunter - I don't know what the hell is up with this guy... lol There's way too many possible variations why a hunter would form... so I have no definite idea..

Hunter is purely an instinctual animal. Probably formed from a druggie or something. Seems like one. Maybe even a parkour traceur?

 

[ríomhaire]

The witch is created when a pregnant woman gets the infection. The difference in hormone levels in the woman causes the virus to work differently. Her body is mutated more than an ordinary infected and made stronger. Her mind is damaged but not broken like the normal infected. She's basiclly deranged and crazy from miscarrying the baby and knows that something is horribly wrong, even if her mind is in no state to understand what that is. The virus, of course, still gives her the agression to uninfected.

 

[chimpmunk]

P.S. "It's probably smell" - lol you're one hell of a biologist! Smell that allows exact location, position and orientation information as well as degree of hurt. Psychic magic spells are more likely.

Oh yeah, I forgot, you "know about biology", so you get to decide what makes sense and what can be explained, and when your almighty argument of "IT'S JUST A GAME LOL I KNOW BIOLOGY" applies.

Nevermind the fact that a canine like sense of smell could pretty easily pinpoint (or at least, get a good idea of its location) almost exactly the location of a person that's just standing in a room close by. As for the "degree of hurt", it could be the smell of blood, pain and fear pheromones, etc...

But, as "someone who knows about biology", you probably thought of that, no?

Give up your condescending attitude.

 

[nurizeko]

Just because someone wrote "not airborne" on wall doesn't make it so, it could still be airborne, especially if a, much more reliable and offical, poster says so.

In all fairness I am more inclined to believe a survivor who has survived the apocalypse then a bureaucratic paranoid H&S just-in-case poster made before all the facts were known.



Remember, at the beginning of an outbreak, its just common sense to assume its spread by all means until you know for sure.


Its the same reasoning behind checking old ladies for bombs just as much as a beardy young male Muslim at airports.

Boomer - Obesity is finally useful.

But its set in America, why isn't nearly every infected a boomer?.

P.S. "It's probably smell" - lol you're one hell of a biologist! Smell that allows exact location, position and orientation information as well as degree of hurt. Psychic magic spells are more likely.

Sonar.



Also the campaigns are linked sorta, if you look out a window looking behind where you start on the dead air campaign, between buildings you can see the boat you escaped the death toll one or something.

And yet people are trying to apply real world scientific theories to something that is scientifically impossible...

Eejit, where has anyone submitted a scientific paper to a scientific Journal arguing for the existence of a disease that could cause extreme violence and massive loss of intellect?.

Its a game, people are theorizing (in the unscientific sense) about possible fictional explanations for how it could have occurred.

Suspension of disbelief, even the most famous scientists can participate in that when they read some fiction or watch a movie.


While you may have felt it important to try and stress what everyone already knew, you've made your point, so unless you want to participate in the theorycraft, your probably best served contributing elsewhere.

 

[chimpmunk]

In all fairness I am more inclined to believe a survivor who has survived the apocalypse then a bureaucratic paranoid H&S just-in-case poster made before all the facts were known.

Yeah, I guess, seen that way it makes sense. I was seeing it the other way, more like "I would rather trust a big organization than a scribing on wall".

 

[nurizeko]

Yeah, I guess, seen that way it makes sense. I was seeing it the other way, more like "I would rather trust a big organization than a scribing on wall".

The scribbler probably survived longer then the guy who created the poster, if it helps. :bounce:

 

[Eejit]

Nevermind the fact that a canine like sense of smell could pretty easily pinpoint (or at least, get a good idea of its location) almost exactly the location of a person that's just standing in a room close by. As for the "degree of hurt", it could be the smell of blood, pain and fear pheromones, etc...

a) The boss infected can detect survivors across the entire length of the map, not just adjacent rooms.
b) Sense of smell doesn't let you know which way a person is facing.
c) Sense of smell doesn't stop you from detecting a person when they stand still for a while
d) Sense of smell would find it difficult to tell that someone has just bandaged and therefore is no longer hurt

These also apply to Sonar nuri.

Why do you get all defensive whenever I suggest I may know more about Biology than you? It's pretty apparent from your posts your knowledge is rather limited (or your reasoning is).
I wouldn't be insulted if you started insinuating that you know more about photography than me.

Eejit, where has anyone submitted a scientific paper to a scientific Journal arguing for the existence of a disease that could cause extreme violence and massive loss of intellect?.

Valve said it's a new rabies strain. What does rabies do to animal behaviour Nuri? It's a relatively reasonable explanation for the normal infected which I am prepared to accept within the framework of the fiction.
The Boss infected are another thing entirely because they were merely added at a late state for balance/gameplay purposes - this is why they make absolutely zero sense. None at all.

Its a game, people are theorizing (in the unscientific sense) about possible fictional explanations for how it could have occurred.

Suspension of disbelief, even the most famous scientists can participate in that when they read some fiction or watch a movie.

Yes, but they are trying to theorize about the unexplainable. There can't even be a consistent ingame explanation for the Boss infected. A virus simply cannot cause changes that widespread and varied - there is a finite limit on their genome size. A virus can't encode the proteins necessary to drastically alter organ identity and function in an adult the way we see with the Bosses - even suspending disbelief as to whether any organism could effect such changes in the first place.

Disbelief can only be suspended so far before it beomes ludicrous. See "INSULTINGLY STUPID MOVIE PHYSICS".

While you may have felt it important to try and stress what everyone already knew, you've made your point, so unless you want to participate in the theorycraft, your probably best served contributing elsewhere.

Corrections aren't contributing?
Anyway it's fine to theorize about the normal infected since they are at least semi-possible. The boss infected are entirely silly, theorizing about their hormone levels etc just makes you look equally silly guys. My point about the infected's "6th sense" was to try and illustrate that not everything can have a theory that explains it without resorting to magic or aliens.

 

[NathanBayFilms]

The boss zombies are mutations from the regular infected. They even say it in the intro movie of the game. So stop crying people.

 

[Eejit]

Yes, a vietnam vet surmises that in the intro video. It's still ludicrous.

 

[Sledgehammer]

Witch, Horde and Hunter are somewhat plausible. The rest: No.