Project Zomboid News

Project Zomboid reintroduces multiplayer with the newest Beta build

After multiple years working on Build 41 of Project Zomboid, The Indie Stone have now finally hooked up multiplayer for it and you can test it yourself now.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/12/project-zomboid-reintroduces-multiplayer-with-the-newest-build

Build 41 Multiplayer Beta Available Now!

[h3]Build 41 and MP info[/h3]

Hello survivor! Here’s a few notes of introduction for players new to the Knox
Event.

Build 41 is our playable beta of a complete overhaul of Project Zomboid: new animations, new combat, new soundscape designed by some of the folks who won awards for Alien: Isolation, new map function, vast new city added to the map. New everything, really.

We have been working on it for two years, and very recently have reintroduced multiplayer which has proved extremely popular – and may even be the reason that you are here reading this!

It looks a little like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atI-tEpmS4g

And here’s some advice from Nurse about how to access and what’s included:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCqRYjAepBk

With Build 41.61, we've increased the supported player count to 32, already.

This build is NOT currently the initial download Steam users are presented with – we intend to give Build 41 its full release and move it into the mainline early next, year once we have fixed and polished remaining issues with the new MP.

[h3]So how do you access the latest build?[/h3]

Simply go to your Steam betas, and select the one called "b41multiplayer".

Please be aware that this is a test build, and is still being actively patched, fixed and worked upon.

While many (many!) people are having a great time with Build 41 MP, there are still issues we need to fix – and support issues that we need to address.

Public servers are currently not recommended. Whitelisted and co-op servers are strongly advised for the best experience.

The new update is very complex, and we are a very small team. So please be understanding while we update, fix and polish ready for the full launch next year.

We would like to thank our amazing community for the help they have been giving to new players, and all the enthusiasm they have shown during this exciting time for Project Zomboid.

We hope you all have fun! Have some Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year!

Project Zomboid just added multiplayer servers

Project Zomboid is secretly one of the best zombie games ever made, and it's been in Early Access since 2013. That doesn't mean it's lacked attention: developer The Indie Stone has continuously put out updates that have filled out the game immensely over the years. Today, however, the small studio announced a particularly big one: the latest test build includes Project Zomboid's long-awaited multiplayer servers.

The mode is currently available only in a test branch - The Indie Stone says it still needs a lot of polish, and it's been an incredibly complex project for such a small team to undertake. However, the studio says wider player testing will help tighten up the latest version of the game, and it's invited everyone to give the new build a try.

Multiplayer Zomboid supports up to 16 players, dedicated servers, and co-op play. The new build also includes a huge update to the map, which originally was set in and around Westpoint and Valley Station, Kentucky, but now includes parts of Louisville to the north. The developers describe the new map as "like silly huge", which will help support the additional players.

Read the rest of the story...

Project Zomboid has recently seen a nice surge in players on Steam

Project Zomboid, the long-running Early Access zombie survival game has recently seen a very interesting surge, repeatedly blowing away their previous records for players online.

Read the full article here: https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/04/project-zomboid-has-recently-seen-a-nice-surge-in-players-on-steam

Build 41 IWBUMS Beta out

The public ‘I Will Back Up My Save’ beta for the long-awaited Build 41 is now open for testing by the Project Zomboid community.

LATEST BETA BRANCH UPDATE: JANUARY 15th 2021.
PLEASE SEE THE STEAM DISCUSSIONS FOR THE LATEST 2020 UPDATES ON THE IWBUMS STEAM BETA BRANCH. THE BRANCH IS ACTIVELY UPDATED WHILE THE NEWS SECTION IS NOT.

HOW?

The IWBUMS beta is accessible to anyone who plays Project Zomboid. Right click Project Zomboid in your Steam library and hit “Properties”. Then, navigate to the betas tab and select the “iwillbackupmysave” branch from the dropdown menu.

Those who test IWBUMS beta builds must be aware that what they’re playing is a work in progress.

IF YOU HAVE ANY PROBLEMS - MAKE SURE ALL MODS ARE DISABLED - then please try verifying the steam local cache within those same options. If this doesn't work, try a full uninstall and reinstall (while also deleting or renaming the installation folder as well as your user folder in C:\Users\YourUsername\Zomboid). Sometimes Steam updates can be buggy with big updates.

The beta is put out for public consumption for player feedback and bug reports. Please direct gameplay feedback to our forum beta release thread, and bugs to this section of our forums.

For further details on what IWBUMS testing entails, please check here.

WHAT?

Build 41 is the most fundamental and wide-ranging update that Project Zomboid has ever had. We intend it to be a stable foundation for us to build on for many years ahead. For this reason too,however, we anticipate a fairly long public beta while all the various issues presented to us by community testers are spotlit and remedied.

Some key features, primarily MP, are initially disabled in the IWBUMS beta build – and will be turned on during the testing process.

Build 41 currently contains:

New gameplay styles: Builder, Brawler and Survivor
More deadly ‘Survivor’ (Survival) gameplay balance – player can be dragged down by horde and feasted upon etc.
New survivor abilities: sitting, sneaking, sprinting, jogging, racking, reloading, climbing, fence-jumping, collapsing and much much more.
New combat, new weapons, new difficulty balance.
New character creation – many, many different new clothing options both on spawn and discoverable in the world as loot or on zombies.
New zombie behaviour: feasting on recent corpses, lolling against walls, falling over fences etc.
Blood system that progressively bloodies bodies and clothing of survivors and zombies
New injury system – movement and combat visibly hampered when injured. Lacerations now possible, an injury state that lies between bites and scratches.
Improved gunplay: green/red aiming outline, new guns, improved racking and reloading, increased gun loot spawn.
Zombie Death Scenes – zombies discovered in the situations in which people died. Prayer meetings, sports-viewing parties, survivor zeds wearing backpacks etc.
Situational zombie type/clothing and inventories – cop zeds in police station, firemen zeds in burnt buildings, Chef zeds in restaurant kitchens, bride and groom zeds at a wedding ceremony in church etc.
Clothing protection: different clothing provides different levels of protection from zombie attacks.
Visibly ripped and damaged clothing.
New Sims-style cutaway vision system.
Vehicle handling improvements, resizing and appearance tweaks.
Updated, remastered and improved Kentucky-themed soundtrack. Original music still in rotation, and also accessible through game options.
New SFX: weaponry, zombie moans etc.
New water visuals – including visible flow direction.
New puddle system during heavy rain.
Broken glass and related injuries.
Garage doors may be opened / closed and shake when hit.
New Challenge maps: Film Set and Kingsmouth Vacation Island
3D Store Mannequins – can be dressed however you like
Working washing machines and driers
Server-side saving: MP save system now in a server-side database. Offline SP-side, also means no more lost cars via irl power outages.
New game cursor
New level-up sound, and tweaked levelling system.
Faint isometric aiming cursor that shows where you’re aiming in iso space.
New loot balance and loot balance system: houses and stores now have loot in the containers you would expect from real life – and not in a jumble.
Two tiers of loot priority – allowing for more realistic ‘filler’ loot amidst the more valuable gameplay items.
Many, many general fixes including remedies for: floating cars, farming issues, inaudible house alarms, erosion shrubs blocking vehicles, desensitized survivors being panicked by crawlers and much more.
VISIBLE BACKPACKS!

Build 41 and is the first (biggest) step in our overall plan to bring more life, variety and activity to the Knox Event. From this build onwards we will be adding in (and improving) our existing AI work layer-by-layer.

Build 42, for example, will use the power of the Build 41 animations build to introduce animals and wildlife.

We will also be releasing AnimZed, our animation tool, to the community during the IWBUMS beta process – meaning that modders will receive a huge boost in what they can create within PZ.

WHAT NEXT?

During the IWBUMS beta process for Build 41 the following features will be re-enabled and/or improved.

Multiplayer – alongside significant MP Networking improvements
Improved visual fidelity of survivor character and zombies
Further optimization to improve performance on both low and high end systems.
Sprinter Zeds
Fire visuals
Tutorial
Zombie skin appearance/decay
Ability to repair ripped clothing

WHAT ELSE?

Due to the extent of engine and gameplay changes in Build 41, existing savegames will NOT be compatible.

At the time of the full build release, for those wishing to continue playing on old saves, a Steam beta branch of the current Build 40 will be available – and will continue to be available at all times.

This will be known as ‘PZ Classic’, and will also allow people to continue to play with their favourite mods until such a time as they are updated.

Click here for a sneak vision into the future beyond build 41!