NEXT STEPS
Hello Survivors! It’s July 9th, something of a key date in PZ lore, so we felt it was a great time to check in with you to lay out our overall plans for the rest of the year. So pack up the car, fuel up the generator, and let’s get ready for a loot run!
42.20
Unstable Build 42.20 is in the testing phase, and it’s a big one, with a few yet-to-be-revealed surprises a big portion of the team has been designing and creating. We’ll announce the specifics once the update is complete, and are targeting a release later this summer.
Additionally, Unstable players will want to be aware that we have also been addressing issues around the following:
- Character Spawns
- Controllers
- Meat yield from Butcher Hooks
- Vehicle Towing
- Zombie culling in MP
- Map chunk loading when driving in MP
- And loads more..
Due to a large content update, unfortunately 42.19 save games will not be transferable to 42.20.
However, you have at least a few weeks before the release from this point to play out your games – and 42.19 will still be available on the ‘outdatedunstable’ branch if you choose.
THE ROAD TO 42 STABLE AND BEYOND
At this point we have identified 42.20 as the build candidate that will move to the Stable branch, and barring unforeseen circumstances, when it launches it will do so as the default launch option on Steam.
The move to Stable marks an important milestone for Unstable beta players who have been dealing with save breakages from multiple updates, and likewise for mod authors to have a far less changeable platform to build upon.
Of course, this will also introduce Build 42 to the broader community that doesn’t choose to opt-in to Unstable builds – and allow us to gather feedback from those players as well as from more uninterrupted longer-term playthroughs.
Once all PZ players are on the Stable version, our current plans are as follows:
- After any necessary hot fixes are identified and released, we will begin working on a patch consisting of tweaks and adjustments based on player feedback – primarily aimed at the late game.
- After we hit Stable, once hot fixing and such is over, we will be releasing both our latest mapping tools (WorldZed, TileZed, etc.) and our in-house animation editor and integration tool, AnimZed. We believe that having greater control over animations will be of huge benefit to modders looking to unleash their creativity.
- Community Localization work is an ongoing project, with an amazing response from players all over the world, and will continue. Over 1.3 million words have so far been translated into twenty-nine different languages, just since June! We are still looking for volunteers for some under-represented languages, including Danish, Dutch, Korean, Greek, Norwegian, Polish, and Portuguese (PT-PT). If you are interested in contributing please see the details in our previous blog post.
- Clearly there is plenty of work ahead on the road to our future major builds, but in addition through the rest of 2026 we will also be working on a Build 42 Support Update that focuses on optimization, additional modding support, and some player-requested features and polish that didn’t quite make the Build 42 Stable cutoff.
This support update will benefit from many of our learnings from Build 42 and the recent process changes the team has implemented, as well as addressing technical debt that has built up over time, and is aimed at continuing to improve our development pipeline.
PROJECT ZOMBOID MAP PROJECT
If you haven’t seen it yet, under the stewardship of Calvy, the Official Project Zomboid Map Project has been significantly updated and upgraded!
Calvy had this to say about the re-launch:
*“The official Project Zomboid mapping project has undergone an enormous upgrade and now supports B41, B42, and legacy versions! This has been a huge amount of work and a complete rewrite of B42map over the past few months to have it up to scratch.”
“My goal with this upgrade was to give the map the same freedom of use to players that the game does. You should be able to use the map as much, as little, and in whatever way you feel fits best for you. Roleplay mode was made to reflect your character’s mental knowledge of Knox Country. If you think about your home town, you can think of the street names, and picture the buildings on Main Street. But do you really know the details of each business, and how they look inside?”
“Finally, I want to thank blindCoder for his work on the creation and management of the Official Mapping Project for over a decade, and wish the best for him and his family in the future. His work has been a significant contribution to the PZ community for a very long time.”*
RIMWORLD BUNDLE
There’s perhaps no bigger crossover we have between communities than that of Project Zomboid and RimWorld – and as such in the final run up to 42 Stable we have made a super-best-friend alliance.
If you, a loved one or indeed a stranger off the street were to purchase PZ and RimWorld simultaneously you get a full 20% off!
BRAT PEN
Sadly, writer Brat Pen (Sorry, Pat_Bren) aka Pat Brennan is stepping away from the project on a full-time basis – although we may still see his words again in future, not least because we need to know what happens next to Father David and Jacinta in series 2 of Ballincoolin after their doomed night of passion.
Pat wrote the lion’s share of the additional narrative material in Build 42, for which we are proud and grateful.
For those who enjoy his work, please check out his patreon and his kofi – as indeed will many of the PZ team, who will miss his stream of brilliant inanity greatly.
AND FINALLY…
We are also keen on a new initiative to assist medium to large Game Server Providers, if you have lots of Zomboid servers under your care, email it@theindiestone.com if you’d like access to a slack chat channel to give feedback and discuss hosting the game.
As always, we thank you for your continued support and constructive feedback, and don’t forget to throw some bandages and an extra bottle of water in the glove box for the road ahead!
The Indie Stone
*The 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.*
*As always, discussions regarding this update can be found pinned to the Project Zomboid Discussions Forums here.*