Project Zomboid News

[h3]Hotfix#3 October 3rd:[/h3]

- Fixed the timed-action progress bar position not being updated during actions without a fixed duration.
- Fixed the animation speed of the timed-action progress bar at different framerates.


[h3]Hotfix #2 September 29th:[/h3]

- Fixed black screen issues with certain mod constellations.
- Improved ConnectionManager logs.
- Increased kick delay for CRC differences.


[h3]Hotfix #1 September 29th[/h3]
- Improved Type5 and Type22 Anti-Cheat behaviour to reduce false positives.
- Extended checksum logs for debugging CRC differences.
- Fixed Type21 black screen at connection stage when Type21 anti-cheat check is disabled.
- Fixed the character model always using media/textures/Body/Masks instead a clothing item's UnderlayMasks folder.


[h2]Original Patch[/h2]
[h3]MP[/h3]
- Improved client connection.
Important for server providers: Servers now have two ports for clients to connect to.
The game port (UDP 16261 by default) is used to handle Steam queries. The additional port (UDP 16262 by default) is used to handle the direct connection. These ports can be configured through the server options.
Clients will first try to use a direct connection. If direct connection fails, clients will try to connect via Steam.
The non-Steam version works as usual.
UPnP rules were changed accordingly (UPnP is used in cases to prevent manual port-forwarding).
The client will show the warning message "WARNING: SERVER HAS PORT %1 CLOSED. PERFORMANCE MAY BE SEVERELY AFFECTED" if the client can't connect through direct connection.

- ZNet libraries rebuilt for Windows, Linux, and Mac.
- ZNet, Connection, and Kick logs are improved.

- Additional logs were added.

- Fixed kicks after disabling VOIP.
- Fixed connecting to host after disconnection from a dedicated server.
- Fixed infinite connection attempt to non-steam server when it's not up.
- Fixed the client displaying "Disconnected" instead of "Wrong username or password".
- Fixed players being able to change their saved password for an already created account in some instances.


[h3]NEW[/h3]
- Added a looping progress bar for timed actions that have no defined end. This is mainly a stopgap "fix" for entering cars, to visualize that there is an ongoing unfinished action until we can have visually open doors, etc.
Specifically added for the scenarios where players reported being bitten through the car door after they had entered a car and interrupted the "enter car" action before it could finish (e.g. by opening the map, etc), i.e. before the door was "closed".
This bar extends to other "infinite" actions like Walk To.


[h3]MODELS[/h3]
- Added new body locations: Jacket_Bulky, JacketHat_Bulky, TorsoExtraVest, and JacketSuit.
- Assigned new body locations to existing clothing items to avoid clipping.
- Tweaked and added many clothing masks to avoid clipping through each other.
- Adjusted several clothing models and bone weighting to improve clipping.
- Removed Bowling shirt model from Bowling shirt definitions and made Bowling Shirt a texture. The model was left in the files in case mods use it.
- Improved base Body mask to help with clipping.
- Re-exported ALICE packs as some straps were missing.

Hello everyone.

[h3]NEXT[/h3]
The situation with Linux server instability remains ongoing, with the MP team working on another update to the Unstable beta – and an internal test of their work tonight.

The good news from the Unstable release of 41.76 was that overall network and connection speeds were improved, and will be beneficial to all online players once fully released, but the far more pressing issue was that residual errors in our zombienet library carried over server instability. Getting this, finally, sorted is currently the team’s number one priority.

This issue doesn’t impact all our players, but we recognise how frustrating it must be for those who play regularly on Linux servers – and above all those who operate them. We can only apologise for the continued outage and ongoing work, and recognise that patience has been running understandably thin.

In our travels fixing the issues, the networking has been changed so as to more directly communicate between server and client. The server now has 2 ports to connect to. The game port (16261 by default) is used to handle Steam queries. The additional port (16262 by default) is used to handle the direct connection, and thus circumnavigate the data travelling through the steam network which was impacting latency and throughput significantly. These ports can be configured through the server options.

We’re aware this may cause a bit of disruption when we first release this to stable. However, the positive impact this will have on server performance, reducing lag and improving syncing of the game is too great to ignore, and should be just an additional port for server operators to be aware of and shouldn’t affect the vast majority of players connecting. The non-Steam version, meanwhile, will just work as usual.


[h3]THEN[/h3]
Most of the non-MP team are now fully on B42 development, but we do have a few brave soldiers working on the final 41 patch that’s currently backlogged behind the aforementioned MP fixes.

The intention of this patch is to be as non-disruptive as possible, and to leave 41 in the best possible condition during the next period of extensive Build 42 development.

As such it’s primarily fix-based and polish, but there are also some expanded sandbox options. You can see the topline of new changes in the screenshot below.



You can thankfully also view the full current changelist by following this hotlink.

This build will go into the unstable beta once MP servers are fully patched up and stable.


[h3]42[/h3]
We’ve got a couple of videos from RJ this week to show his current work on domestic animals. They are fairly self-explanatory when you watch them, but PLEASE NOTE everything you see is heavily WIP.

RJ is working in something of a development debug sandbox here, and as such everything will have rough edges – and likewise some player actions will have more appropriate animations, animal sizes will be improved, sound effects, further polished UI etc. etc.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Finally, just to give you the shivers, here’s a sample of the Sound Team’s latest work on sprinter screams. Don’t have nightmares.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

This week’s book club from Kawri. A changelist of all our pre-release and post-release patches since the 41 beta began can be found here. The Block of Italicised Text would like to direct your attention to the PZ Wiki should you feel like editing or amending something, and the PZ Mailing List that can send you update notifications once builds get released. We also live on Twitter right here! Our Discord is open for chat and hijinks too. Experienced games dev and want to work with us, especially if you’re an Animations Engineer as Christ alive that would be handy? Details here.
 

We skipped public testing for 41.75.

The TL;DR of the changes from 41.74 to 41.76 is that the Steam Networking API implementation was improved; Linux crashes should be fixed and overall networking performance has been improved alongside connection stability in internal tests.
In essence, the game will now also use direct communication with dedicated servers, instead of going entirely through Steam’s own networking API, improving performance and stability for dedicated servers.


[h3]MP[/h3]
- Improved Steam Networking API implementation.
- Selected game data is no longer transmitted through the Steam P2P API but through UDP instead.

- Adjusted Anti-Cheat Types 21-24 to result in fewer false positives.

A note that if you do not run a public server (i.e. a server exclusively for you and your family & friends without the worry of griefing and cheating), you can entirely circumvent any sort of frustration with false positives by disabling all AntiCheat protections in the servers .ini file.

- Split the large ConnectionDetails packet into several smaller packets with one of the ConnectionDetailsPacket.State enum values indicating which data is requested.
- Improved algorithm for the transmission of large files while playing.

- Loading screen now shows the download status of large files when connecting to a server.

- ZNet library was rebuilt on all platforms.

- Fixed ObjectModData packets not being sent while the server was in the FastForward state.
- Fixed bug in world dictionary when an item in a different module but with a similar name as an vanilla item was removed.
- Fixed a new stubble Beard getting added to remote players after each appearance change, which resulted in receivePlayerZombieDescriptors errors.

Okay, so here’s a run down on our current basic plans for finalizing Build 41, and then beyond.

[h3]NEXT[/h3]
We’ve left Linux server operators hanging out to dry a bit over the last two weeks and feel awful about it – especially ones with larger/busier servers.

41.73 came with crashes on Linux servers, and the version with the updated Steam API we put into the Unstable beta in 41.74 turned out to bring in as many issues as it solved.

As such Yuri and Andrei are currently working on another approach that will be going into Unstable beta (and then Stable) as soon as we can muster – which will have the crashes fixed, and should also have increased networking performance and improved connection stabilities for everyone. We’re hoping to conduct an internal test on it tomorrow.

In essence the game will now also use direct communication with dedicated servers, instead of going entirely through Steam’s own networking. This should improve things for all players on dedicated servers – including the Linux servers that were sadly the canary in the coalmine that flagged up the fact that something needed to be done here.

Again, our apologies to those impacted – we are thinking of ways to repair some of the damage done during the outage and appreciate your frustration.

[h3]THEN[/h3]
We have a staging branch backstage that all our coders are feeding aspects of their work that they wouldn’t want people to have to wait until Build 42 for – so no big features, but instead a lot of fixes and balance.

We will also be trying to limit mod disruption and big/controversial changes, as this will be the version that we leave folks with for quite a while when all of us are 100% working on new features alongside the existing 42 team. (Apart from anything urgent we might need to attend to on 41, clearly).

The sorts of things we’re currently testing for this patch include: many and various visual issues with the cutaway system, colour blind accessibility options, better crate highlights, many recipe improvements, better ways for the game to handle car alarms and (hopefully) fixes for sounds cutting out in busy MP situations.

There’s also some new 3D models where we’ve had icon mismatches, new tooltips to better explain what different items can do, weight/encumbrance rebalancing on some items, the lighter/Molotov fix we mentioned last time and many and varied other fixes. We’ve also done some work improving the in-game server browser that we would certainly like to include as well.

There’s a lot of other stuff too, but you probably get the gist. Nothing that’s going to rock the boat, but also enough stuff to keep the boat sailing until we reach the glittering shores of 42.

[h3]MAP NEXT[/h3]
While we can’t and won’t go into forensic detail on which towns and what design themes we’re going for, it’s perhaps time to talk about the next map expansion – which will most likely hit with 42.

Xeonyx and Ayrton are essentially pushing the map out on all sides, apart from beyond the game’s traditional Ohio River boundary.



The map team are returning to fictionalised versions of real places on the Kentucky map – Riverside and March Ridge being entirely fictional. We don’t want to name exactly which ones, but it might be worth mentioning one of them will be Ekron.

The location currently commonly known as Ekron within the community is not supposed to be our version of that place, and (for reasons that will become explicit when viewed on the PZ map) is internally known as Fallas Lake. We will erect a sign in Build 42 to make this information more prominent.

Here’s a few WIP screens of some of our future locations to keep you all going.




[h3]ALSO[/h3]
Other things currently being worked on for B42 inclusion that we haven’t mentioned before are:

• The Sound Team are working on sprinter zed growls and screams – our first inspirations here will be the Dawn of the Dead remake but we will iterate until we get it right. Formosa have also created a variety of bullet impact noises (on cars, dirt, glass, plastic, trees, walls and wood) that we will be integrating come 42, alongside the further improvement of the dynamic music system. They will also clearly have their hands full with the cows, chickens, sheep, improved fishing and many and various new post-apocalypse items and actions that B42 will bring along with it.
• 
  RJ is currently experimenting with rats, which could also become part of the Knox Event alongside domestic animals. Martin, meanwhile, has been working on animal transportation – namely new trailers and potential new vehicles.
• Pat_Bren has been expanding the breadth of different TV and radio channels available to tune into at the start of the outbreak, and is now moving onto some other frequencies that players might be lucky enough to come across later on within the PZ timeline too. Right now he’s added Public Access TV, a Music channel, a Sports channel, a movie channel, a new entertainment channel and a radio station called Upper South Radio.

We can’t remember if we showed it before, apologies if so, but seeing as RJ is back working with his rats – here’s what a PZ rat looks like when it bugs out with human hair.



Thanks all, and thanks for your patience. We’ll see you next time.

This week’s foggy overview from the Universe of Gamer. A changelist of all our pre-release and post-release patches since the 41 beta began can be found here. The Block of Italicised Text would like to direct your attention to the PZ Wiki should you feel like editing or amending something, and the PZ Mailing List that can send you update notifications once builds get released. We also live on Twitter right here! Our Discord is open for chat and hijinks too. Experienced games dev and want to work with us, especially if you’re an Animations Engineer as Christ alive that would be handy? Details here.

 

Hey all, we’ve had our heads deep in MP stuff this past ten days – so please excuse a blog that’s heavy on busywork and housekeeping.

We released 41.73 to stable last week, which came with an unanticipated issue that saw Linux servers (of which there are many) having frequent crashes – generally when multiple users tried to connect at the same time.

This wasn’t great, to say the least, so a lot of the B41 team’s bandwidth has gone into investigating, testing and finding a solution for this over the last ten days.

We’ve recently released version 41.74 to the Unstable beta, which has fixed the crash issue at our end – and we would ask that anyone who hasn’t been able to play due to linux server crashes to try it out. This includes a full update to Valve’s latest Steam API.

If you continue to experience crashes on the Unstable branch after this patch, please head to our Discord techsupport channel or forums and send us your hs_err_pid**.log file (you’ll find this in the server installation folder) in addition to a download link to a .zip file of your Home/Zomboid folder (remove the “Saves” folder from it to save space).

Doing a wholesale update to the Steam networking interface like this isn’t small beans, and it has thrown up a few issues that we will be remedying in the coming days – but in the interest of getting folks missing out on their PZ ASAP we have released the fix to Unstable to get people back on-board, and report back on any other misbehaviour.

We will also be making some of the new anti-cheat additions far less twitchy, as these too caused issues for some people on 41.73 launch.

[h3]NEXT PATCH[/h3]
Slightly logjammed behind 41.74 is a wide-ranging patch full of many and various things. To minimise future disruption to B41 players we are thinking that it may well be the last major patch before all coders are moved to B42 and more feature-based development.

Clearly there will still be fixes and maintenance where necessary. We’ll be wanting to leave 41 in the best state that we can, and with as many annoyances removed as possible. Plans can change of course, but this currently our direction.

Some of the logjammed items ready-coded and awaiting internal integration and testing are:

New flatpack model for movable icons. Cleared up plastic/metal bucket confusion. New watering cans.
Added compass support for the forthcoming compass item. When an item with the Compass tag is in a player’s inventory, the tooltip on mouseover will include text indicating which direction the character is facing.
Recipe improvements: – more food items capable of being added to tacos and burritos.
Rebalanced weights/encumbrance of: walkie talkies (for French speakers: talkie walkies), fire extinguishers, branches, spears, more.
Adjusted the capacities of pistol and revolver cases from 7 down to 4. Changed the sawed off shotgun recipes to only use the hacksaw, and not the garden saw.
Longstanding bugbear that using lighters with Molotovs completely drains them fixed. Also when a Lighter is equipped it will no longer automatically become lit, instead it will do so only if activated using the flashlight keybind or radial menu, or using the inventory context menu option to activate them.
Several new zed and building stories.
Added a new sandbox setting “EnablePoisoning” which has the settings “True” (default), “False”, and “Bleach is Disabled”. It governs if poison, or only bleach, is disallowed from being added to foods. Although this is primarily intended for MP servers, as an anti-griefing/no-PVP allowance, it has been requested for singleplayer as well, thus why it is a sandbox setting and not a server setting.
Building keys spawn on zombies and corpses when they spawn inside buildings, when appropriate, instead of when they die inside of one. (WIP – may be B42)
Set some traits to be mutually exclusive to remove exploits or illogical combinations: Brave & Agoraphobic/Claustrophobic; Adrenaline Junkie & Agoraphobic/Claustrophobic/Cowardly.
Rebalanced the maggots that spawn on corpses so that they spawn less often in spring and fall, and also so that the maggots that spawn on zombie corpses have a poison value of 5 instead of 3.
Improved how current fakedead zombie spawns function.
Improvement to buffs and debuffs in terms of XP and moodles shown.
Fixed issues that involve spawning in barricaded/burnt/randomized locations.
House keys will no longer spawn with a long string of numbers in their display name. (Should’ve improved this previously – apologies)
Added attachments to most food models so they appear in the player’s hand while eating
/gunshot command can now target a specific player
Some work-in-progress changes to zombie behaviour. Random offset to where zombies think a sound came from for unseen squares. Rain increases zombie hearing random offset range and decreases chance for zombies to react to player sounds. Zombies wander more during heavy rain. (Potentially B42 content)
Fixes and improvements to the admin tile picker system in MP.
Some logical improvements to clothing items. Motorcycle helmets protect from head fractures, firefighter gear protects from fire etc.
A fix to how you’re unable to claim a safehouse unless standing on the ground floor, and how game currently doesn’t check upper floors for other players or zombies when claiming.
“Streamer Mode” audio option which changes vehicle siren sounds to avoid bizarre copyright strikes.
Various improvements and fixes to the cutaway system.
Colour-blind friendly accessibility addition – letting you add:another variant to red/green in aiming outline – and also to reduce difficulty when zed is standing on snow.
Added highlight to crates so it’s easier to differentiate which one player is interacting with.
Optional Sandbox Setting To Disable The Tainted Water Tooltip/Warning For Hardcore Play
Improvements to level of damage burnt food does to players with weak stomach trait
Changes to how car alarms function in-game, seeing as currently they are an extremely rare threat.


Although its early days yet, and unconfirmed for B42, we are also currently spending some time doing some backstage experimentation with basements and improvements to our loot/inventory UIs. If these are successful we may well see them surface in future blogs.

Thanks all!

This week’s supermarket camping trip from 지혁. A changelist of all our pre-release and post-release patches since the 41 beta began can be found here. The Block of Italicised Text would like to direct your attention to the PZ Wiki should you feel like editing or amending something, and the PZ Mailing List that can send you update notifications once builds get released. We also live on Twitter right here! Our Discord is open for chat and hijinks too. Experienced games dev and want to work with us? Details here.