Question Black Ops 7 — Detecting Zombie Entities & AI Arrays

[byte_corvus]

Anyone else diving into the Black Ops 7 entity logic? I’ve been poking around the engine trying to get a solid lock on zombie detection, but it seems the standard entity array iteration isn't as straightforward as in previous titles. If you're coming from older CoD builds, you know the drill—usually, you just loop through the cg_entities or check the eType in the centity_t struct.

In BO7, the zombies don't seem to populate the main player entity list or count toward the standard entity array when using traditional iteration methods. If you're just counting the array size or looking for standard player structures, you’re going to hit a wall. This suggests the engine might be using a separate pool for AI or a filtered bitmask that you aren't accounting for.

The Technical Hurdle

1. Entity Flags: BO7 likely uses specific bitmasks or an eType constant that differs from players. If you aren't filtering for the right type, they simply won't show up in your results.
2. Separate Pools: The game might be utilizing a dedicated AI entity pool or a component-based system where zombies are handled outside the standard client-side player array.
3. Structure Validation: Check if the entity state is being updated in real-time or if the zombies require a specific pointer dereference from a global world state struct.

Spoiler: Proposed Research Steps

If you're stuck, I'd suggest dumping the full entity struct and looking for a specific indicator—like a movement state or a low-level identifier—that only zombies possess. In my experience with modernized IW-based engines, they love to hide NPCs in a slightly shifted offset range or use a distinct 'Type' member to distinguish them from local and network players.

To find the offset, try scanning for changes in memory when a zombie spawns vs. when it's killed. You'll likely see a specific bit flip in a range you're currently ignoring.

While the beginners are stuck wondering why their copy-paste ESP only highlights players, we need to find exactly how the engine flags these AI entities to start clearing rounds efficiently and automating the grind.

Has anyone managed to pinpoint the specific eType or the correct array offset for AI in this build?