For our last blog we released the new unstable beta version of Build 41 – which was 41.69 (nice). Today we are releasing 41.71, which follows last Thursday’s 41.70.
You can subscribe to the Unstable beta branch and download 41.71 by right-clicking PZ in your Steam library, and selecting Properties. Now go to the Betas tab and select the "unstable" branch from the dropdown menu.
These have generally been iterative patches, polishing the unstable beta up to a standard that we hope to be ready for a wider stable release next week.
This week’s primary task has been our Sound Team and coder brains fixing out some nasty total sound cut-outs that had been cropping up on busy servers.
Another primary thing we’ve been adding patch-by-patch is our new approach to action music. Instead of switching between tracks mid-combat, the music is reactive and can increase and decrease in intensity during combat and other dramatic moments. The familiar tune can cross-fade into a high action version, essentially.
So far we’ve been getting a very positive reaction from players on the beta. With 41.71 we will have ten out of the fourteen action tracks working in this way, so let us know what you think!
Otherwise in these patches we’ve been fixing lots of different longstanding niggles with the game, so have a peek at the changelists – and jump in if you fancy on the unstable beta to let us know whether you think the build is ready for wider public consumption.
Finally, if you notice that the Unstable beta is misbehaving with your favourite mods, then please let your favourite mod authors know – though please also be patient with them as they all exist in the real world with real lives/jobs/families/pets/TV shows to watch.
Finally finally+ a reminder that we will be removing some legacy builds from the Steam betas once the latest unstable beta goes stable. If you are playing on an older Build 41 beta, then please return to the mainline if at all possible.
NEXT
Meanwhile, new stuff continues to build for future updates to Build 41. The MP team continue their long-term work on having all items operate server-side to prevent item-spawn cheating, while also providing improvements to 41’s more iterative patches.
At the moment there’s also MP work in the can on stuff like vehicle radios now receiving radio stations, VOIP and radio chat messages in bubble text over the car. Likewise improvements have been made to your client predicting where your friends are falling/dying which is resulting in resulting in far less corpse placement weirdness.
Work is also currently going into the smoothness of vehicles being controlled by other folks on the server – especially when they are moving at high speed.
On the TIS side, meanwhile, EP has been integrating a new feature into the in-game map system that will be of great interest to admins and server owners: the ability to see where individual players are on Build 41’s in-game map.
Server operators will also have the option of allowing members of safehouses or factions be able to see each other on their own map, if that suits their playstyle more than the usual default of having absolute no idea where your friends are.
While it’s still not imminent, Aiteron is also integrating new animations into his fishing system that are starting to look really cool. This is super WIP and will get a lot of polish, but this is what it looked like this morning.
Please note that in the vid the character is following the cursor: the cursor doesn’t represent fish placement. Gameplay hasn’t been fully tied to the anims yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6DGtmEdhkw
We are also looking for feedback and local knowledge from PZ players from Kentucky (and nearby surrounding regions) who enjoy fishing themselves.
If this means you, then please check out the questions on this Google form. Massive thanks to those who previously emailed and have already given us some direction also!
NEW HIRE
Avid TIS followers will know that for a while we have been on the hunt for an Animation Engine Specialist to join the Project Zomboid team, and we are delighted to welcome one Howard Smith to our ranks. Howard is a big PZ fan, and also has big brains that have previously worked on the likes of Call of Duty, Halo and (wait for it) Left 4 Dead.
Truth be told, in the big push for MP our work on our animations tech stalled somewhat – and there’s still many, many aspects of PZ combat and movement that we want to streamline and improve, and likewise many complex systems we’d dearly love to integrate in the future. Howard has a tasklist a mile long covering areas in which our animator has been logjammed recently, and as such will be something of a busy boy.
Something else, meanwhile, that this gets us back on track with is work towards a release of our internal AnimZed animation tools to the community. This won’t be an imminent thing, but part of Howard’s work while getting bedded down in our code will be in building documentation and making some improvements both for us and the modding community.
MORE NEW HIRE?
Following the success of Build 41, we also find ourselves in a position where we can hunt down other experienced Games Programmers to join the Project Zomboid team.
We are looking for coders willing and able to refresh some of our older systems, polish the existing ones and then to delve further into the features that will be part of the Knox Event’s exciting future.
Interested applicants should check our jobs page, but we should underline that we currently don’t have any entry-level positions available. You will need to have a fair amount of experience we are afraid.
TILL NEXT TIME
That’s all the major news for this blog, but tomorrow we will have a surprise treat for denizens of the PZ subreddit. Pat_Bren has tracked down and interviewed a community hero, which has finally allowed us to say…
This week’s arboreal scene from a S1ngle Man. 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.
