What to do with Zombies?

[Solarius Scorch]

If they can use advanced weapons, you need to make some large debuff. E.g. large hp, but very low tu.

Yes, I'll think about it. But the unit as such is already in the game (as an enemy unit), so making a different version for X-Com would be weird... There are some limiting factors here, like combat stats (shooting abilities, TUs) and needing a living specimen, but I am aware of the problem.

I shall endeavour to refer to them from this point on as NotZombies

Yes, naming them as such is a gross misconception even in the in-game universe... Even though they look like zombies.

[yrizoud]

If you're looking for a lore which fits the mechanisms that you put in the mod, possessed people are a good alternative for zombies. It fits the existing graphics and sounds, and justifies that they can be taken alive. It's also less of a surprise that XCOM can research a way to cure the victims.
For example the disfigured monsters in Evil Dead movies are not reanimated corpses, but living people who get possessed. Ash himself gets briefly possessed at a time, and luckily recovers.
https://evildead.wikia.com/wiki/Deadite#Possession
If zombies are actually possessed, it justifies making them a bit faster (probably more challenging), and holding improvised weapons, especially horror-themed weapons like meat cleaver and the occasional chainsaw or molotov cocktail.
Also, Evil Dead uses the Necronomicon, so that's one more thing linked with the Cthulhu mythos.

[Solarius Scorch]

If you're looking for a lore which fits the mechanisms that you put in the mod, possessed people are a good alternative for zombies. It fits the existing graphics and sounds, and justifies that they can be taken alive. It's also less of a surprise that XCOM can research a way to cure the victims.
For example the disfigured monsters in Evil Dead movies are not reanimated corpses, but living people who get possessed. Ash himself gets briefly possessed at a time, and luckily recovers.
https://evildead.wikia.com/wiki/Deadite#Possession
If zombies are actually possessed, it justifies making them a bit faster (probably more challenging), and holding improvised weapons, especially horror-themed weapons like meat cleaver and the occasional chainsaw or molotov cocktail.
Also, Evil Dead uses the Necronomicon, so that's one more thing linked with the Cthulhu mythos.

Not a bad idea, but Zombies background is quite established for a long time.

That possession thing may happen elsewhere, though!

[Slaughter]

Possession = Infection? By What? That leads from virus to parasites (like Headcrabs) and through X-COM Apocalypse to the Micronoids which leads to further parallels with the "Black Oil" from The X-Files.

If one sees zombies as a alien experiment to create cheap human soldiers and slaves using the available material, then fast zombies and eventually zombies smarter zombies make sense, possibly ending with zombies smart enough to use tools and weapons. So you end with Doom-style zombies capable of using guns, and maybe even tactics (minus demoniac possession).

Another avenue of research, of course, would be the Resident Evil path - mutate them into more and more gruesome and powerful mutant monster things.

Then there's the Cyber-Zombie route, which is either "reviving" dead bodies with cybernetics (Universal Soldier-style), cyborging people into zombieness, or sticking cybernetics in already-existing zombies.

[Dr.Crowley]

And so I've reached that point where living zombies (and other living specimens) became a real problem for my storage department too. All I have to say regarding this - "somebody call the shooting squad, goddamit!"
If to say seriously, I see only two ways to "dispose" living zombies - either literally convert them to dead tissue and then extract bioplasma just as usual, or convert them to some sort of "biodrone" using mind control function of X-Com Psyclone (or its specially tweaked version).

Spoiler:

P.S.:
As for further development of zombie arc (and it's purpoise) - my headcanon is that "zombies"are just another alien experiment aimed to create perfect soldier for first stages of invasion (just like mutants, btw) and terror missions (zombie outbreaks in major cities would be ever worse than any alien invasion). I must admit that I wasn't much happy to realize that aliens are involved in zombie plot - but mr. Solarius is the captain

[HelmetHair]

Live alien sale.

[yrizoud]

In case you didn't know it already, you can right-click your prison to enter a management screen.
- If "live alien sale", you have the option to sell prisoners
- Otherwise, you have the option to, err, convert them to non-live prisoners.

[khade]

Could make sense to always have the second option, as sometimes they're just worth more to you after being killed.

edited for clarity

[Solarius Scorch]

Yeah, I plan to make both options available: slaughtering and repurposing.

[Dr.Crowley]

In case you didn't know it already, you can right-click your prison to enter a management screen.
- If "live alien sale", you have the option to sell prisoners
- Otherwise, you have the option to, err, convert them to non-live prisoners.

Well, selling living monsters would be weird, so I have only one option: "dispose" them by "converting" to dead tissue (ex-specimens, yeah). That's why I asked.

[Solarius Scorch]

Well, selling living monsters would be weird

Maybe, but very much justified, considering how much scientific institutions would scramble to get their hands on one. Especially military ones.

[Dr.Crowley]

Maybe, but very much justified, considering how much scientific institutions would scramble to get their hands on one. Especially military ones.

Well, I mean zombies actually. Even if common and fat zombies are relatively "safe" (they can't infect humans), Infectors are not.

[The Think Tank]

What if, just a random idea, curing them would give you a chance to either generate one engineer, scientist or agent. I mean, as you said not everyone is cut out to be a soldier, but certainly they could benefit the X-Com organization in some way or another, and having the possibility for them to become either a scientist, engineer, or agent would give an element of random chance and some incentive (other than morals) to actually save them.

[Solarius Scorch]

What if, just a random idea, curing them would give you a chance to either generate one engineer, scientist or agent. I mean, as you said not everyone is cut out to be a soldier, but certainly they could benefit the X-Com organization in some way or another, and having the possibility for them to become either a scientist, engineer, or agent would give an element of random chance and some incentive (other than morals) to actually save them.

Makeng them into soldiers would be possible (engineers and scientists I think not), but I think it wouldn't be a good decision... Zombies are one of the not so many targets who are completely unworthy of pity as mindless monsters, and also not really that useful alive, so I guess I'll let the players kill them without regrets.

But you can already grind them for blood plasma (more efficiently than corpses), and I might add the option to make them into kind of security drones - more for fun than actual usefulness, but still.

[Dr.Crowley]

Let's think a little deeper into this "zombie cure" topic.
Even if we could cure common zombies, what should we do with more mutated forms? Yep, it would be somewhat nice to have additional personnel virtually for free, but I'm not sure that fat zombie or mutator could become engineer or scientist. And remember - even cured mutator is still dangerous because of parasites he's breeding inside of him. I can tolerate cured fat zombies as janitors but not infectors roaming free in my base and turning my staff into zombies - no matter if he does it unintentionally. Yeah, do you think that any cured "alternatively-alive" will be nice person? What if he/she will be a nihilistic asshole, superhuman-wannabe or yet another mad-scientist-type who will start a zombie outbreak just FOR SCIENCE?
I shall admit that my point may be arguable (and controversial a bit) but I just wonder how the one could be so naive about zombies. Once they are infected, there is no way back for them, sorry.