Zombie Survival Game Online News

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[p]Hey survivors!
[/p][p]This update focuses heavily on performance improvements, foliage and environment optimizations, and early prep work for vehicle spawning. We’ve also got more vehicle-related updates coming soon 👀 - thank you for sticking with us as we keep building this world one piece at a time.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🚙 Vehicle System Prep[/h2][p]We’re laying the groundwork for proper vehicle spawning and future driving systems.[/p][p][/p]

• [p]Added 15 Vehicle Spawners across MainLevel![/p][p][/p]
• [p]Updated core spawner class to better handle vehicle spawning logic. [/p][p][/p]
• [p]Added a child vehicle spawn point, giving us more control and consistency in where vehicles appear.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🌲 World & Foliage Optimization[/h2][p]Huge focus on performance and making the environment run smoother on all machines.[/p]

• [p]Small LOD tweaks to trees, objects, and skeletons.
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• [p]Configured a new LOD group for large foliage and made LODs for big trees and some rocks much more aggressive. (Your GPU thanks you.)[/p][p][/p]
• [p]Enabled density scaling on grass and small foliage meshes.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]
• [p]Removed collision from tiny dirt-pile foliage.
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• [p]Grass and small non-interactive plants no longer cast shadows, helping performance in dense areas.[/p]

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🎒 Inventory & Movement Changes[/p]

• [p]You can now move while your inventory is open, as long as you don’t have an external window open (like a world container).
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  • [p]Movement is intentionally slower while the inventory is open to keep things balanced.
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• [p]Adjusted the jump logic so you can’t jump while your inventory is open (a side effect of the new movement behavior).[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🔥 Hotter Coldbar[/h2]

• [p]Made the coldbar a bit more “hot” by lowering its use cooldown from 1.5 seconds to 0.5 seconds. We stress-tested this by equipping/unequipping a bunch of items rapidly and didn’t run into issues, but we’ll still be watching it closely.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🧟 AI Performance Improvements[/h2][p]More optimizations to keep the hordes running without melting your PC.[/p]

• [p]Adjusted bone tick poses so they don’t update when the AI isn’t being rendered. (Doesn’t apply to characters using live retargeting.) Then we realized this doesn't really work on the dedicated servers since AI needs to be rendered at all times. This resulted in a few hotpatches over the last couple of weeks. Oops & thank you for your patience![/p][p][/p]
• [p]Additional mesh-component optimizations like:
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  • [p]Disabled bone motion blur
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  • [p]Skipped bounds update during interpolation
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  • [p]Other tiny engine-level gains
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[p]All these micro-optimizations add up![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]💾 Stability Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Fixed a potential null pointer in the save backup system during testing. (We’re not sure it would ever crash in a real playthrough, but we added extra safety checks just in case.) [/p]

[p][/p][p]Known Issues (Targeted for Upcoming Updates) [/p][p]Based on survivor reports, we’re actively investigating and working on the following:[/p]

• [p]BP_RangedAI still needs to be updated to use our new damage interface [/p]
• [p]Show Item Tooltips and Show HUD Buttons appear to have been disconnected and are not behaving as expected[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]✨ Visual & Experimental Additions[/h2]

• [p]Tested some new Niagara VFX for a possible anomaly event and upcoming world decorations. Nothing final yet, but the early results look spicy.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]Lastly, more work on the coming cave update![/p][p][/p][p]As always, thank you for supporting ZSGO while we continue improving the game piece by piece. We’re a small part-time team, but updates like these wouldn’t happen without your feedback, bug reports, and encouragement.[/p][p][/p][p]More exciting stuff is on the way!![/p][p][/p][p]Stay alert & drive safe,[/p][p]- The ZSGO Team 🧟‍♂️[/p][p] [/p]

[p]Hey survivors![/p][p][/p][p]We pushed a small hotfix to address a few annoying issues with damage & interactions. We were also made aware by survivor Keelo + friends that there is a healing bug on the hosted servers \[this bug is still around, unfortunately, and we are working on a fix!]. Coop + Singleplayer are not affected by this bug. Here are the technical details from the hotfix:[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Client Damage Fixes[/h2][p][/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue where clients weren’t always taking damage properly in certain situations from the new Zed changes.[/p][p][/p][p]We replaced an internal engine damage event so damage should now register more consistently for clients. Please keep an eye out and let us know if you still notice weirdness here. Thanks for the reports, survivors!![/p][p][/p]
• [p]Replicated bIsPushed should allow the client to push multiple times properly.[/p][p][/p]
• [p]Fixed code issue where if the montage got interrupted, it would never re-enable zombie movement until the zombie got triggered into a state that would do so automatically[/p][p][/p]
• [p]Added a redundancy check 4 seconds after the push to confirm it's still in push state and to ensure renabling movement.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]Interaction & Inventory Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Added extra safety checks so you can no longer open a zombie’s inventory while it’s still alive. (If it’s walking around, it’s not a loot box. Yet.)
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• [p]Fixed two null pointer errors in the Map setup that could trigger when a client player died.
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• [p]Improved interaction with dead bodies by:
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  • [p]Changing the dead body skeletal mesh collision to behave like a world item.
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  • [p]Adding a wider collision volume that only interacts with the “interact” trace.
    This should help when your UI says “Press F” but nothing actually happens.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]As always, thanks for sticking with us and sending in bug reports. These hotfixes help keep the foundation solid while we keep working on more updates coming your way.[/p][p]WINTER IS HERE!!! Stay warm, & stay armed,

- The ZSGO Team [/p]

[p]Hey there, survivors![/p][p]
We have an exciting update to push! This one focuses heavily on zombie behavior, combat feel, AI interactions, and performance improvements. Lots of small fixes add up to a big step forward in how the world feels when you’re out there surviving. We are still working out a few kinks and will keep improving based on user feedback, so thank you survivors for always reporting.[/p][p]We’re still a small part-time team, but your support keeps us going. We’ve also got some really exciting updates coming over the holidays, so stay tuned![/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🌎 World & Spawning[/h2]

• [p]Added 300+ new zombie spawns across the map, roads, and empty areas. The world now feels more alive… or, well… “un-alive.”
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• [p]Updated JSON POI Manager spawn settings across MainLevel and DemoLand.[/p][p]
  
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• [p]Increased several AI spawner iteration speeds to make spawning more responsive.
  
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[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]⚔️ AI Combat & Behavior Improvements[/h2][h3]MoreInteractions[/h3][p]Everyone fights everyone now:[/p]

• [p]Scavs attack zeds & animals
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• [p]Animals attack zeds & scavs
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• [p]Zeds attack scavs & animals[/p][p][/p]

[p]Basically, the ecosystem is a whole lot angrier - and more fun to watch!![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Louder Zeds[/h3]

• [p]AI now broadcasts attack sounds, so nearby AI will react even if they’re not facing the action.
  
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• [p]Fixed issues where zombies would attack but not look at their target correctly.
  
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• [p]Fixed bugs causing scavs/zeds to ignore each other during investigation state or fail to deal damage.
  
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[h3]Melee Adjustments[/h3]

• [p]Reduced melee attack delay, making hits feel much snappier.
  
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• [p]Increased how fast zombies turn to face you during attacks.
  
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• [p]Cleaned up melee logic so zombies only stop movement for the proper duration of the animation.
  
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• [p]Removed a buggy bite animation that caused attack hitches. (RIP weird bite montage - you will not be missed.)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]
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[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🧟 Zombie Tweaks[/h2]

• [p]Added new systems to prevent zombies from sliding or moving while in spawn or hit reactions.
  
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• [p]Tweaked attack montage play rates to feel less sluggish.
  
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• [p]Redesigned zombie animation blending so upper-body attacks play cleanly while the legs still chase you. (less “ice-skating zeds” around the map.)
  
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• [p]Fixed zombies attacking next to a scav but not facing them properly, causing missed hits.
  
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• [p]Added checks so zombies can’t break out of disabled movement while climbing out of the ground.
  
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• [p]Increased the climb-out-of-ground animation speed and tightened timing.
  
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• [p]Added footstep cues for zombies so they sound more grounded and alive (or… undead).
  
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[h3]Sneak Attack Bonus[/h3]

• [p]If you melee a zombie before it’s aggro’d, it now takes 3x damage.
  Time to channel your inner post-apocalyptic ninja.
  
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[hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🔧 Performance & Optimization[/h2]

• [p]Added cull distances to AI.
  
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• [p]Added LODs to most zombie and AI meshes and created a mesh reduction profile.
  (We’ll likely generate LODs for all unique meshes soon.)
  
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• [p]Disabled fixed mesh bounds on base zombie models to fix camera edge culling.
  
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• [p]Improved pawn sensing so alert cues play correctly.
  
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• [p]Added safety checks to prevent null reference crashes in multiple systems.
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[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🐞 Bug Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Fixed AI getting stuck in MoveToTarget state with movement disabled.
  
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• [p]Fixed rare null pointer in AI multicast montage system.
  
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• [p]Fixed AI bug where enemies played the “sense” alert every time they heard you.
  
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• [p]Fixed null pointer in Async Spawner Func Lib.
  
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• [p]Known visual bug: ranged AI may not aim guns correctly when too close and meleeing, but their shots still register.[/p]

[p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]🛠 Internal C++ Plugin Updates[/h2][p]Various adjustments and backend improvements to our internal AI plugin to support the new systems.[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p]As always- thank you for all the support, bug reports, and patience. ZSGO is built by a tiny part-time team, and updates like this happen because you keep pushing us forward.[/p][p]We have some awesome new features already in progress (more news soon 👀), and we can’t wait to share what’s next.[/p][p]Stay alive out there,
  - The ZSGO Team 🧟‍♂️[/p][p]
[/p]

[p]Hey Survivors,[/p][p]Thanks for hanging in there - we know it’s been a while since the last update. The team has been hard at work cleaning things up and adding fresh content to keep the world alive (and deadly). This update brings bug fixes, loot tweaks, and some long-awaited new toys to play with.
[/p][p] [/p][h2]New Additions[/h2][p][/p][p]87 New Items Added[/p][p]Visit our website to see the full list dropdown:[/p][p]https://www.playzsgo.com/zsgo-v0-5-1-the-explosive-update/#items[/p][p][/p]

• [p]New Grenade Launcher Goes boom. (Pro tip: try not to blow yourself up!) [/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]3 New Raidable Scav Bases Keep an eye out for the new scavenger bases on the map. Each one has loot worth fighting over. This is just the start - more tiers are coming in future updates. [/p]

[p][/p]

• [p]Expanded Roadwork
  The MainLevel got some fresh construction and layout updates. Exploration should feel a little different!
  
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• [p]New Science Crate
  A mysterious crate has been added to the loot pool — packed with research goodies and rare finds.
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[p][/p][p]Fixes & Improvements[/p]

• [p]Attachment Fixes
  No more invisible scopes or ghost grips. Attachments should now behave properly when equipping, unequipping, or repairing. Thanks for all the reports!
  
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• [p]Animation & Hotbar Fixes
  Fixed the phantom swing bug and that awkward reload loop when swapping hotbar items mid-attack.
  
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• [p]Fixed Sound Cues
  Audio feedback should now trigger more consistently in combat and interactions.
  
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• [p]Loot Pool Adjustments
  Added all new items into the loot tables.
  Increased loot across all world containers by 20%.
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[p][/p][p]What’s Next[/p][p]We’re already working on the next round of scav base tiers and a massive underground cave. Keep the bug reports and feedback coming - it’s been massively helpful in shaping the game.[/p][p][/p][p]Thanks for sticking with us, survivors. Now get out there, blow some stuff up, and tell us what you find in those science crates. [/p][p]- The ZSGO Team[/p]