Editing Zombieman

[[File:Former_Human.png|thumb|A zombieman firing upon the player in [[E1M1: Hangar (Doom)]]]]
{{Monster versions|disambig={{thisisabout|monster|doom1}}|doom4=Possessed soldier|doom5=Soldier (Blaster)}}
The '''zombieman''' (also called the '''former human''' in the game manuals, and often referred to colloquially by the Doom community as the '''trooper''') is the least powerful enemy in the game, intended as the first enemy a new [[Doom]] player will face. A zombieman is described as a space marine which has been turned into a [[Former human|zombie]] during the invasion from [[Hell]]. The [[monster]] appears as a man in a bloodied tan uniform and body armor, carrying a rifle. His hair has an unusual greenish tinge, perhaps stained with [[nukage]], reminiscent of the odd hair colors that often occur in comic books, anime, and animated works of art. He is officially described as such:
{{Quote|Just a few days ago, you were probably swapping war stories with one of these guys. Now it's time to swap some lead upside their head.|Doom instruction manual|Doom instruction manual}}

== Combat characteristics ==
The zombieman will make one of three different [[#Data|sounds]] when alerted: two animalistic roars, and an inarticulate chatter sound. All three zombie types make the same sounds when they spot the player. The zombieman is armed with a rifle that fires bullets that are slightly less damaging than [[Pistol|the player's bullets]]. When the zombie attacks, it aims its rifle at the player for a short time (10 tics) and fires a single pellet. The zombieman's weapon has a wide dispersal (standard deviation around 9&deg;, to a maximum of ±22&deg;), and will most likely miss at medium to long ranges. After firing, the monster [[Monster behavior|resumes walking]] to its target.

The zombieman is generally considered the least dangerous enemy in the game; no other monster (excepting the [[Commander Keen]]) has a lower movement rate, [[hit point]] total, or average damage per attack. When killed, the zombieman falls hard on its back with various bits of blood and flesh blown off its form as it lets out either an agonized moan or scream, dropping an [[Clip|ammo clip]] containing 5 bullets (or 10 on [[I'm too young to die]] and [[Nightmare!]]); if he subsequently [[Skill level|respawns]] or is [[Arch-vile|resurrected]], the zombie will drop another clip each time it is killed again. It can also be [[Gibs|gibbed]] if attacked with powerful weaponry, such as a [[rocket launcher]].

== Tactical analysis ==
Unless in poor health, an armed player should never need to back down from a single zombieman, although large groups can slowly drain the player's health during the time it takes to kill them all (as in [[TNT: Evilution|Evilution]] [[MAP09: Stronghold|MAP09]]). The dispersal of the shots from its rifle means that it is barely a threat at medium to long ranges. In an emergency, or when conserving bullets during a [[UV Tyson|Tyson]] run, the [[fist]] is effective in the short term if the player's footwork is good (two blows will usually knock one down, while a single [[Berserk pack|berserk]] attack will certainly finish it, often [[gibs|gibbing]] it). As they are extremely weak and easily disposed of, using heavier weapons against them is considered a waste.

Zombiemen, and other low-ranking monsters, can be used as a form of "roadblock" to slow down the player, usually through the use of [[teleporter#Teleporter traps|teleport traps]]. While relatively easy to handle during normal play, this tactic may be used by mappers to frustrate [[speedrun|speedrunners]].

Zombiemen hordes may also serve as {{wp|cannon fodder}} to cause [[Autoaim|confusion]] between the player's weapons and the player's intended target. An example setup is a higher-ranking monster attacking from a raised platform distant from the player, with zombies swarming in the foreground. It is best to take care of these zombies as soon as possible, as waiting on infighting may waste valuable health and time, especially if other monsters can reach you with projectiles.

The zombieman's low rate of fire and damage capability make it a rather weak contributor to [[monster infighting|monster-monster battles]]. Attrition among a crowd of zombiemen is generally slow, and distraction of larger monsters minimal.

In most stock levels, many of the enemies in the first few rooms are zombies. Unless the player's primary goal is speed, the zombiemen's dropped clips can be a valuable early source of ammunition. In most cases, ammo gained from picking up a clip dropped by a zombieman will make up for the bullets required to kill it.

== Inspiration and development ==
An early version of the zombieman appears in the [[IWAD]] file of [[Doom 0.4]], although the [[sprite]] ({{c|POSSA}}) does not appear in the game. The sprite is almost identical to the [[Doomguy]]; it is slightly lighter in color, and has crudely drawn square red eyes (to show that it is possessed). The only frame is a full frontal view, with no rotations. In [[Doom 0.5]], however, the sprite is virtually identical to the finished version.

== Notes ==
* The zombieman has the type name {{c|MT_POSSESSED}} in the [[Doom source code]], and the sprite prefix {{c|POSS}}, while the analogous {{c|MT_TROOP}} and {{c|TROO}} are given to the [[imp]]. The zombies were called "demon-possessed humans" (or simply "possessed humans") in the [[Doom Bible]] (section 7.2), having been "possessed in their sleep".
* With only 20 hit points, the zombieman can be [[Gibs|gibbed]] with the [[berserk]] fist, [[rocket launcher]] (player or [[cyberdemon]]), [[plasma rifle]], [[BFG9000]], exploding [[barrel]], [[demon]]/[[spectre]] bites, [[cacodemon]] ranged and melee attacks, [[lost soul]] bites, [[Hell knight]]/[[baron of Hell]] clawing and ranged attacks, [[revenant]] rockets and punches, [[mancubus]] fireballs, and [[arch-vile]] flame attacks. This is more than any other monster in the game.
* The official French name of the monster is simply "zombie".

== Data ==
{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|Zombieman data (original)
|-
| [[Thing types|Thing type]]||3004 (decimal), BBC (hex)
|-
| [[Mobj|Enum]]||MT_POSSESSED (1)
|-
| Appears in||[[Shareware]] Doom<br>[[Doom]]/[[Ultimate Doom]]<br>[[Doom II]]/[[Final Doom]]
|-
| [[Hit point]]s||20
|-
| Speed||8 [[map unit]]s per frame<br>(70.0 map units per second)
|-
| Radius||20
|-
| Height||56
|-
| [[Mass]]||100
|-
| Reaction time||8 [[tic]]s
|-
| [[Pain chance]]||200 (79.30%)
|-
| Pain time||6 tics
|-
| Flags||{{c|4194310}} (decimal)<br>{{c|00400006}} (hex)
|-
| Flags list|| 1: Obstacle<br> 2: Shootable<br>22: Affects kill %
|}
{{col-break|gap=0.5em}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|[[Sprite]]s & [[sound]]s
|-
| Sprite name||POSS
|-
| Alert sound||DSPOSIT1,<br>DSPOSIT2, or<br>DSPOSIT3
|-
| [[A_Chase|Active sound]]||DSPOSACT
|-
| Pain sound||DSPOPAIN
|-
| [[Types of death|Death]] sound||DSPODTH1,<br>DSPODTH2, or<br>DSPODTH3 (normal)<br>DSSLOP ([[gibs]])
|}
{| {{prettytable}}
! [[State]]!!Frames
|-
| Idling||2 [AB]
|-
| Chasing||8 [AABBCCDD]
|-
| Attacking||3 [EFE]
|-
| [[Pain state|Hurting]]||2 [GG]
|-
| [[Types of death|Dying]]||5 [HIJKL]
|-
| [[Gibs|Gibbing]]||9 [MNOPQRSTU]
|-
| Resurrecting||4 [KJIH]
|}
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|Ranged attack
|-
| Type||[[Hitscan]]
|-
| [[Damage]]||3-15 (Consoles: 3-24)
|-
| Sprite||PUFF (impact, miss)<br>BLUD (impact, hit)
|-
| Frames||4 [ABCD] (impact, miss)<br>3 [CBA] (impact, hit) <small>if damage > 13</small><br>2 [BA] (impact, hit) <small>if damage <= 12</small><br>1 [A] (impact, hit) <small>if damage <= 8</small>
|-
| Sound||DSPISTOL (firing)
|}
{{col-end}}

{{col-begin|width=auto}}
{{col-break}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|Zombieman data (Doom 64)
|-
| Enum||MT_POSSESSED1 (7)
|-
| Appears in||[[Doom 64]]/[[The Lost Levels|Lost Levels]]
|-
| Speed||8 map units per frame<br>(60.0 map units per second)
|-
| Radius||32
|-
| Height||87
|-
| Flags||{{c|4194822}} (decimal)<br>{{c|00400206}} (hex)
|-
| Flags list|| 1: Obstacle<br> 2: Shootable<br> 9: Apply gravity<br>22: Affects kill %
|}
{{col-break|gap=0.5em}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|Sprites & sounds
|-
| Alert sound||SFX_059 or<br>SFX_060
|-
| Active sound||SFX_081
|-
| Pain sound||SFX_054
|-
| Death sound||SFX_072 or<br>SFX_073 (normal)<br>SFX_055 (gibs)
|}
Data not listed is the same<br>as for the original version.
{{col-break|gap=1em}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan=2|Ranged attack
|-
| Damage||3-24
|-
| Frames||6 [ABCDEF] (impact, miss)<br>4 [ABCD] (impact, hit) <small>if damage > 13</small><br>3 [BCD] (impact, hit) <small>if damage <= 12</small><br>2 [CD] (impact, hit) <small>if damage <= 8</small>
|-
| Sound||SFX_033 (firing)
|}
{{col-end}}

[[File:PossHistogram.png|none|300px|thumb|''Damage done by a zombieman's bullet'']]

{| {{prettytable}}
| '''Shots needed to kill'''<sup>1,2</sup>
| Mean
| {{wp|Standard deviation#Interpretation and application|Standard<br>deviation}}
| Min
| Max
|-
|[[Player]] (100%<br>[[health]], no [[armors|armor]])||12.29||2.16||9||19
|-
|Player (100%<br>health, [[security armor]])||17.86||2.79||13||26
|-
|Player (200%<br>health, [[combat armor]])||44.18||6.03||37||59
|-
|[[Barrel]]||2.93||0.83||2||6
|-
|[[Zombieman|Trooper]]||2.93||0.83||2||6
|-
|[[Sergeant]]||3.91||1.04||2||7
|-
|[[Wolfenstein SS]]||6.37||1.39||4||11
|-
|[[Imp]]||7.43||1.53||5||13
|-
|[[Chaingunner]]||8.80||1.74||5||15
|-
|[[Lost soul]]||12.29||2.16||9||19
|-
|[[Commander Keen]]||12.29||2.16||9||19
|-
|[[Demon]]||17.86||2.79||13||26
|-
|[[Spectre]]||17.86||2.79||13||26
|-
|[[Boss brain]]<sup>3</sup>||29.78||4.39||25||42
|-
|[[Revenant]]||35.44||5.22||30||50
|-
|[[Cacodemon]]||47.41||6.88||40||64
|-
|[[Pain elemental]]||47.41||6.88||40||64
|-
|[[Hell knight]]||58.95||8.61||50||82
|-
|[[Arachnotron]]||58.95||8.61||50||82
|-
|[[Mancubus]]||70.57||10.22||60||96
|-
|[[Arch-vile]]||82.52||12.01||70||114
|-
|[[Baron of Hell]]||117.61||17.02||100||159
|-
|[[Spiderdemon]]||351.57||51.06||303||473
|-
|[[Cyberdemon]]||468.91||68.19||405||631
|-
|}
<div style="font-size: smaller">
#This table assumes that all calls to [[Pseudorandom number generator|P_Random]] for damage, [[pain chance]], [[blood]] splats, and bullet dispersal are consecutive. In real play, this is never the case: counterattacks and AI pathfinding must be handled, and of course the map may contain additional moving monsters and other randomized phenomena (such as [[Sector#Doom|flickering lights]]). Any resulting errors are probably toward the single-shot average, as they introduce noise into the correlation between the indices of "consecutive" calls.
#The target must be close enough to compensate for the monster's inaccurate aim.
#Assumes that direct hits are possible, which [[Icon of Sin|does not occur]] in any stock map.
</div>

== Appearance statistics ==
In the [[IWAD]]s the zombieman is first encountered on these maps per [[Skill level#Doom and Doom II skill levels|skill level]]:

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan="4"|Single-player
|-
!Game / ''Episode''!!1-2!!3!!4-5
|-
|''[[Knee-Deep in the Dead]]''||[[E1M1: Hangar]]||E1M1: Hangar||E1M1: Hangar
|-
|''[[The Shores of Hell]]''||[[E2M1: Deimos Anomaly]]||E2M1: Deimos Anomaly||E2M1: Deimos Anomaly
|-
|''[[Inferno]]''||[[E3M2: Slough of Despair]]||E3M2: Slough of Despair||E3M2: Slough of Despair
|-
|''[[Thy Flesh Consumed]]''||[[E4M9: Fear]]||E4M9: Fear||E4M9: Fear
|-
|[[Doom II]]||[[MAP01: Entryway]]||MAP01: Entryway||MAP01: Entryway
|-
|[[TNT: Evilution]]||[[MAP01: System Control]]||MAP01: System Control||MAP01: System Control
|-
|[[The Plutonia Experiment]]||[[MAP01: Congo]]||[[MAP07: Caughtyard]]||MAP07: Caughtyard
|-
|[[Doom 64]]||[[MAP01: Staging Area]]||MAP01: Staging Area||MAP01: Staging Area
|-
|[[The Lost Levels]]||[[MAP34: Plant Ops]]||MAP34: Plant Ops||MAP34: Plant Ops
|}
{{col-break}}
{| {{prettytable}}
!colspan="4"|Multiplayer
|-
!Game / ''Episode''!!1-2!!3!!4-5
|-
|''Knee-Deep in the Dead''||E1M1: Hangar||E1M1: Hangar||E1M1: Hangar
|-
|''The Shores of Hell''||E2M1: Deimos Anomaly||E2M1: Deimos Anomaly||E2M1: Deimos Anomaly
|-
|''Inferno''||E3M2: Slough of Despair||E3M2: Slough of Despair||E3M2: Slough of Despair
|-
|''Thy Flesh Consumed''||E4M9: Fear||E4M9: Fear||E4M9: Fear
|-
|Doom II||MAP01: Entryway||MAP01: Entryway||MAP01: Entryway
|-
|TNT: Evilution||MAP01: System Control||MAP01: System Control||MAP01: System Control
|-
|The Plutonia Experiment||MAP01: Congo||MAP07: Caughtyard||MAP07: Caughtyard
|}
{{col-end}}

The IWADs contain the following numbers of zombiemen per skill level:

{{col-begin}}
{{col-break|width=50%}}
{| {{prettytable|style=text-align: center;}}
!colspan="4"|Single-player
|-
!Game / ''Episode''!!1-2!!3!!4-5
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''[[Knee-Deep in the Dead]]''||''88''||''169''||''214''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''[[The Shores of Hell]]''||''26''||''58''||''60''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''[[Inferno]]''||''20''||''37''||''37''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[Doom|Doom (registered)]]||134||264||311
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''[[Thy Flesh Consumed]]''||''69''||''74''||''73''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[Ultimate Doom]]||203||338||384
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[Doom II]]||221||268||290
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[TNT: Evilution]]||337||370||443
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[The Plutonia Experiment]]||117||81||86
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[Doom 64]]||92||120||142
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|[[The Lost Levels]]||24||21||27
|}
{{col-break}}
{| {{prettytable|style=text-align: center;}}
!colspan="4"|Multiplayer
|-
!Game / ''Episode''!!1-2!!3!!4-5
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''Knee-Deep in the Dead''||''88''||''169''||''214''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''The Shores of Hell''||''26''||''58''||''60''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''Inferno''||''20''||''37''||''37''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Doom (registered)||134||264||311
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|''Thy Flesh Consumed''||''69''||''74''||''73''
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Ultimate Doom||203||338||384
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|Doom II||221||268||290
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|TNT: Evilution||342||375||448
|-
|style="text-align: left;"|The Plutonia Experiment||117||81||86
|}
{{col-end}}

Of the maps covered on the Doom Wiki, the following have the highest numbers of zombiemans in single-player on skills 4-5:
{| {{prettytable}}
! Map !! Count
|-
| [[MAP05: Cosmogenesis (Cosmogenesis)]] || 11615
|-
| [[MAP28: The Eclipse of Betelgeuse (SlaughterMAX)]] || 8521
|-
| [[IDDQD Arena]] || 6574
|-
| [[MAP32: Power Overwhelming (SlaughterMAX)]] || 5452
|-
| [[World Orifice]] || 2872 (MAP01)<br>2850 (MAP31)
|}
''This data was last verified on March 13, 2024.''

== Other games ==
[[File:Doom64Zombieman1-D64ex.jpg|thumb|A group of zombiemen in [[Doom 64]] [[MAP01: Staging Area (Doom 64)|MAP01: Staging Area.]]]]
=== Doom 3 ===
{{Main|Z-Sec}}

=== PlayStation Doom ===
In [[PlayStation]] Doom, their gunshot damage is increased somewhat, up to a maximum of 24. The manual also lists the name of this enemy type as "Former Soldier", though he retains his original name of "Zombieman" in the [[Doom II cast sequence|game ending sequence]].

=== Doom 64 ===
{{Main|Doom 64 monsters#Former human}}
In [[Doom 64]], the zombieman's a visual appearance is similar to that in [[vanilla Doom]], but instead their rifles look more like shotguns and their suits are colored blue-grey. They first appear in [[MAP01: Staging Area (Doom 64)|MAP01: Staging Area]]. Also, as in PlayStation Doom, their gunshots deal somewhat more damage than the originals.

=== Doom RPG ===
In [[Doom RPG]], the zombieman appears as the "zombie" monster class. There are three different forms, identified by color:
* Zombie private (brown)
* Zombie lieutenant (blue)
* Zombie captain (normal colors)

They are weak against [[axe]] attacks.
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="200px" heights="231px">
Zombie Pvt BREW 2.png|Zombie private
ZombiePrivate.jpg|A zombie private attacks in the BREW 2.1 version.
Doom RPG Zombie Lt.png|Zombie lieutenant
Doom RPG Zombie Cpt.png|Zombie captain
</gallery>

=== Doom II RPG ===
Zombiemen were replaced with zombie workers in [[Doom II RPG]].
<gallery mode="nolines" widths="250px" heights="140px">
Doom II RPG Zombie worker.png|A zombie worker in Doom II RPG.
</gallery>

== Trivia ==
* In [[Doom II for Game Boy Advance]], a red blood splatter, half-way covered in green, appears in the zombieman's death animation.
* The bullpup-style rifle carried by the zombieman matches the one carried by the player sprite, and is likely an in-game conception of [[Tom Hall]]'s [[Doom Bible]] idea for the "machine pistol," which was eventually implemented as the [[Assault rifle (Doom)|assault rifle]] which appears in the [[Doom 0.4]] beta.
* Some of the zombieman's rotation sprites are missing from the IWAD, presumably for space reasons. Doom mirrors the existing sprites horizontally to compensate for the missing rotations, causing the direction of the enemy's rifle to "switch sides" occasionally while walking. The missing rotations were later released by John Romero.

== See also ==
* [[Zombie (Doom 3)]]
* [[Z-Sec]]

{{Doom monsters}}
{{Doom 64 monsters}}
{{Sony PlayStation monsters}}
[[Category:Zombies]]