Hello, Survivors!  Today we are bringing you some news related to our localization process, along with a quick preview of the upcoming 42.19 Update!  So throw some beef jerky into your fanny pack, fill up your canteen with whiskey, and let’s take a look:

LOCALIZATION: A PIVOT

Previously, TIS announced that Project Zomboid would be moving to external localization for Build 42 and beyond. However, after trying this process out and then mixing in many separate changes and recent improvements to our workflow, we believe that the extended future of both the game and community would be better served by returning to the community translation model that we had been so proud of up to and through Build 41. To explain our reasoning:

In hindsight, one reason we initially put a halt on community translation is simply because our pipeline was too unwieldy and our processes weren’t good enough backstage to manage the data flow. Now, with coders experienced in this field who have worked with a very similar set-up on the Minecraft Java Edition, which provides support for 100 languages, we can supply a far more engaging, interactive and collaborative set-up to benefit the languages we intend to support – and those who were going to miss out on participating.

In switching to an external localization team we realized that we were putting a decade’s worth of known and loved phrases, titles and terminology (including some that even the PZ team themselves were ignorant of) at a degree of risk. Through the full gamut of the game, modding, and localization the new PZ team leaders view community as vital and something we want to dive deeper into on all fronts – and not ignoring its history and how things have formerly come to be is a big part of this.

Looking forward, the community translation model is a smoother and more organic way of supporting our style of development in terms of the way we run an Unstable beta, feature integration, and patching. For those working on the game, too, it’s less stop/start, allows for a constant dripfeed of edits, fixes and improvements in every update we make, and brings more flexibility in terms of not being hemmed in by looming localization deadlines. Above all, it fits in so much better with the collaborative mindset of many members of our team both new and old. It’s a ‘project’ model that just ‘feels’ more like the PZ Way.

If you would like to contribute to Project Zomboid’s localization efforts, whether by helping translate the game directly or by sharing an existing localization mod with us, we’d love to hear from you. Community translators and mod authors interested in taking part can sign up by emailing us with the subject “Localization”, and be sure to include your Discord and SteamIDs, as well as which languages you are able to work on. Please ensure you send your emails to all 3 of the following email addresses:

• sasha.mihailova@theindiestone.com
• yana.md@theindiestone.com
• nasko@theindiestone.com

Due to current levels of interest, it may take some time for us to respond. Please note that only one application is required.

Moving on, let’s talk about the Build 42.19 Unstable update, which is planned for next week!  Much like 42.18, this update is primarily focused on foundational work, with performance improvements, bug fixes, increased multiplayer stability, and some balance tweaks, along with new usability features for controller players.

CONTROLLER CUSTOMIZATION

Controller players know that the team has been hard at work to bring new functionality to controllers, first adapting the Build 42 Aiming System to gamepads, then following up with sensitivity and mapping adjustments based on player feedback.

Because we recognize that Project Zomboid is an interface-heavy game, and knowing that many controller players are coming from other styles of games and even other platforms, we made the decision that instead of continuing to adjust default button mapping configurations, it was more efficient to implement custom button mapping.  This system allows players to remap the controller as they see fit. 

It’s important to note that the game will allow you to remap multiple inputs to a single button, so keep in mind that you may be able to set up some conflicting configurations, but we felt the risk of this is outweighed by players who may come up with cool contextual setups.  Additionally, some controllers have more inputs than ‘traditional’ sets, so some extra buttons may not be mappable in the current iteration.  We are actively seeking your feedback, and would also love to see YOUR favorite controller maps.  You never know, your layout could end up being a default option!

Our thanks go out to our controller players for all their patience as we work to make this input system robust for folks with accessibility requirements or who just prefer controller inputs.  Along with this new remapping system, there are TONS of bug fixes and tweaks to improve your gamepad experience.

BALANCE, FIXES, AND MOAR STABILITY

Following up on the Occupation changes that were made in 42.18, we are narrowing down the window on Build 42 Occupation and Trait balancing.  This update sees Trait tweaks related to the Tracking and Trapping Skills:

• The Hunter Trait now no longer gives a +1 Trapping, replacing it with +1 Tracking, better reflecting a hunter’s experience in identifying game trails on their ‘outings.’
• The Hiker Trait, which awards +1 to both Trapping and Foraging, is reduced in cost to be more accessible to a broader set of Occupations and wilderness-loving survivors.

As far as bug stomping, be prepared for a long list of fixes that affect both single and multiplayer.  Here are some quick previews:  Animals will now be properly allocated between male and female, characters can again hop over jersey barriers, vehicle trailers should not flip on hook-up, and there is a big SFX polishing pass to address sound volume and range inconsistencies. For multiplayer specific bugs, we’ve quashed ones related to firearm magazines disappearing when reloading, items duplicating with various actions, and weapon condition desync between clients and servers, along with many more.

On the performance side of things, a change to the way that chunk textures are loaded should limit the possibility of them being recreated every frame when off-screen, which should improve performance specifically when driving at high speeds through areas with a lot of texture variety (like, say…towns).  

While there are no known broad save-invalidating issues in this update, please remember that this is Unstable, and we always recommend starting a fresh save and resetting servers for a new version release, along with backing up any saves you plan on converting to 42.19.

Thank you again for your continued support as we work to shore up the foundations and thin the horde as we move closer to the Stable version of Build 42.

The Indie Stone

The Centralized Block of Italicised Text would like to direct your attention to the PZ Wiki should you feel like editing or amending something. You can also find us on Bluesky, or on our Discord and Reddit here! If you fancy you can sign up to receive PZ blogs in your emails right here.