Hi everyone, Thursday again. It’s been a busy week both out there in the wilds of the Knox Event and deep in the code-mines that have created it.

We were expecting player numbers to drop off a bit now we’re a full month after the initial 41 IWBUMS beta release but, somehow someway, they haven’t.

It makes us wonder just how many people will be booting PZ back up once we turn the MP back on – though please be aware that right now it’s still a way’s off.

In any case, on Monday we released Version 41.19 which reintroduced sprinters amidst a bunch of other cool stuff.

This left the following on our ‘big ticket item’ list that we want to have nailed before a full 41 release: MP, MP networking improvements, the improved visual fidelity via our ‘zoom’ work, optimization of zombie crowds, new fire visuals, fixed tutorial, new zed decay skins, a system for clothing repair, Turbo’s work on player body heat and finalising the ‘challenge’ of the two new Challenges.

Right now in internal testing we have a Version 41.20. We hope to release this next week, and it will contain:

NEW ZED AND PLAYER MODELS

Mash has created a better rang eof zombies, alongside various states of decay for them to show the longer you survive. These will look at their best once Zac has finished his work on the hi-res zoom branch, but already look pretty cool.

On the far left is the current base zombie level, then one to the right is the ‘new’ base level zombie appearance. The two more decomposed guys to the right are what happens when he stands in a hot room for a bit too long… 

And here’s a quick pic from the Zoom branch where, annoyingly, all the zeds are looking away from the camera…

THERMAL WORK

Turbo’s work with player character temperature, clothing insulation and a code-side thermoregulator that evaluates warmth of different bodyparts and overall impact on the player. As in real life your character should still quite easily maintain a core temperature of 37 degrees when the external temperature is in the 20 – 30 degrees Celsius zone and wearing light to moderate clothes.

When conditions cause overall heat gain or loss, however, your body will try to adjust to the conditions. Your alcohol intake, hunger, fatigue, aerobic activity, water intake and more will all have a part to play.

CLOTHING REPAIR

When it’s released into the beta there will still be some UI work required, but those wanting to pick up needle and thread will have the ability to patch ripped clothes – and maybe sew on some extra defence too.

The quality of repairs and defence will be governed by a new Tailoring skill. It will be possible to cut cotton, leather and denim into strips – and then patch up your damaged clothing.

GENERAL IMPROVEMENTS

• Betterment of firearm hit rates and the way aiming abilities scale as you level up.
• Improvements to sprinters – giving them sprint abilities only if they have a target, a chance to trip and a wider turning circle.
• Many and varied fixes for reported issues.

IN OTHER NEWS

We would like to formally introduce Sam, Casey and Fox to the PZ codebase – who will be working as Junior Programmers and focusing on bugs and QoL issues.

Sam and Casey are both students, while Fox is a recent graduate. They are all a part of Tanglewood Games’ new Revolting Creations team (who regular readers will know as ChrisW) and we’re very excited to provide them with one of their first steps into the wider gaming industry.

Chris is looking for programmers of all levels, including students with no industry experience, so if you think you fit that brief then here’s the deets.

IN AMAZING NEWS

Our heartfelt congratulations to Ocean and Valkoinen: a couple who first met while playing Project Zomboid, and who got married at the end of October! Spiffo (our Spiffo) sends all his love, and best wishes for the future!

This week’s image from Ashsjester who lives over on Reddit. A general list of stuff added to PZ, and vids of features being worked on, is kept here – so you don’t have to plough through endless dev blogs for info. The Centralized 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 blogs like this and patch notes direct to your mailbox. We also live on Twitter right here! Our Discord is open for chat and hijinks too!