Hello everyone! Today we're finally bringing some quality-of-life changes focused on game performance, UI/UX improvements when using inoculators, player movement & game balance adjustements and many bugfixes we would have liked to release sooner. Full details in the list below:

• Fixed escaped Survivors not earning certain achievements if they started from the beginning.

• Added "@carriers" pattern to target all Carriers in the server.
  
• Changed name targeting logic to mimic SourceMod's.
  
• Fixed AFK checker being too "aggressive" by kicking "AFK" players way earlier than it should be.
  
• Fixed admin warning count in the chat having an offset.
  
• Steam IDs in ban/warn lists are read and saved as "classic" Steam ID instead of Steam ID 3 for consistency (no need to update the IDs yourself, the game will do that automatically for you).

• Fixed "Globals.GetMapCycle" crashing the server with huge mapcycle and maplist files (this by extension also fixes the included Rock The Vote plugin).
  
• Fixed "Globals.OnPlayerConnect" not working.

• Enabled culling on survivors materials.
  
• Reworked first person Lea's hands.

• Fixed being able to see players of the opposite team silhouettes through glows.

• Fixed props and "func_physbox" entities not recognizing their owners whenever they were pushed. This fixes both the "teamkill with props" and "kill with props are marked as suicide" problems.
  
• Potential fix for a crash related to the "game_ui" entity (this one is for community maps such as Smash Cannons).
  
• Potential fix for an issue when using a "func_tank" brush entity (this one is for community maps too).
  
• Restored "PVS mode" property on spawn point entities.

• Numerous security and stability improvements.
  
• Updated to the latest public Source SDK 2013 Multiplayer engine.

• Fixed Carrier spawning with normal Zombie arms instead of Carrier's (on first spawn only).
  
• Fixed forced infected Survivors not being cured if needed when someone disconnects.
  
• Fixed infinite Carrier roar exploit.
  
• Fixed team selection not curing force infected Survivor.
  
• Fixed team selection treating escaped Survivors as "Zombie skippers".
  
• Fixed "Zombie stacking" glitch.
  
• Potential fix for infection being forced in 1 Survivor VS 0 Zombies situations.

• Added breakable versions of Half-Life 2 door models.
  
• Minor server code optimization.
  
• Updated contributors list.
  
• Various improvements to loading JSON files. One of them is the ability to see why your JSON file isn't loading properly (missing file, parsing failed due to bad syntax...)

• Potential crash fix for achievements announcement in languages that do not use Latin characters (like Simplified Chinese).
  
• Updated the sentence "you can't grab/use during reload/unload" to remove the "use" part (English and French only).

• [Aquatica] Added some extra ammo at lab spawns at 6 Zombies instead of 7.
  
• [Aquatica] Fixed Zombie spawn timer not scaling to the amount of Zombies.
  
• [Cinema] Fixed an out of bounds ammo entity and broken line of sight spawns.
  
• [Frozenheart] Minor optimizations to the map and its trees.
  
• [Survival Maps] Added a few movable props and fixed couple of lighting issues on Corpsington, Keretti and Silence.
  
• [Town] Fixed a skybox issue.

• Slightly adjusted stamina regeneration for Survivors.
  
• Slightly adjusted walking and ducking speeds for both teams.
  
• Slightly adjusted Zombie lunge speed (very barely noticeable).

• Fixed a rare crash when killing players with an invalid attacker (thanks SuperConker).
  
• Fixed "impulse 103" cheat not being reset when resetting "sv_cheats".
  
• Fixed some incorrect Hardcore checks when "sv_zps_hardcore" CVAR was set to "2".
  
• Updated the description of "sv_zps_hardcore" CVAR to precise it only impact non-ZPH maps.

• Fixed dead Survivors being able to play the "win" voice line.
  
• Fixed "win" voice line not being played underwater.

• [Inoculator HUD] Added a black background to the text to make it more visible.
  
• [Inoculator HUD] Added a sound whenever it shows up, this should give you an audio cue whenever someone tries to heal you.
  
• [Inoculator HUD] Moved it closer to the crosshair to make it more visible.
  
• [Player list dialog] Added a way to copy names and Steam IDs to your system's clipboard in the menu (right click on a client). Note that you cannot copy Steam IDs of bots or SourceTV.
  
• [Player list dialog] Fixed admin. icon not being hidden if an admin. has disabled the "show tags" option.
  
• [Scoreboard] Fixed "Default" sorting mode not having a "secondary filter" in case of a tie.

• [All shotguns] Reworked their shooting behavior in an attempt to make them more "comfortable" to use.
  
• [All shotguns] Slightly changed spread patterns.
  
• [Axe] Adjusted knockback and range.
  
• [Baseball bats] Adjusted knockback and range.
  
• [Crowbar] Adjusted swing rate.
  
• [Frying pan] Adjusted range.
  
• [Golf club] Adjusted base damage.
  
• [Inoculator] Increased distant target range, this should make healing teammates much easier.
  
• [Machete] Adjusted base damage.
  
• [Meat cleaver] Adjusted range.
  
• [MP5] Updated some first person animations.
  
• [Pipe] Adjusted base damage.
  
• [Pipe wrench] Adjusted base damage, knockback and range.
  
• [Pot] Adjusted base damage and knockback.
  
• [Revolver] Slightly adjusted spread patterns and slightly increased camera kick.
  
• [Spanner] Adjusted range.
  
• [Tennis racket] Adjusted knockback and range.
  
• [Wrench] Adjusted base damage, knockback and range.

Special thanks to those who have reported and sent their crash dumps for investigation & potential fixes. We encourage anyone to always send your .dmp files directly to us via Discord or Steam forums.

We're rolling out an important quality of life patch today, focusing on an experimental fix for hitbox registration, minor client UI/UX tweaks and improvements, game crash fixes, and other bugfixes.

• Added hook "InoculatorUsed( CZP_Player@ pOwner, CZP_Player@ pTarget, int &in iType )".

• Fixed Zombie lunge VO being playable underwater.
  
• Removed Half-Life 2's H.E.V. geiger counter.

• Added backward compatibility for the obsolete "weapon_hammer" entity, it will spawn a "weapon_barricade" instead.
  
• Fixed crashes with "Disable, Enable and Toggle" inputs for Survivors/Zombies spawn points.
  
• Removed a bunch of Portal's, Half-Life 2's and Quake's unused entities.
  
• Removed Half-Life 2 geiger counter update functionality in "trigger_hurt".
  
• Removed start dark, show game title and world is cold properties in the "worldspawn" entity.

• Updated barricade lesson's text (only for English and French).

• [Hardcore & Survival] Changed round ending to be delayed when there is an infected Survivor.
  
• [Hardcore] Changed logic to use the same one as Survival's (removed duplicated code).
  
• [Objective] Cleaned some code for performance and stability.
  
• [Test Mode] Changed disabling behavior to reset score, frags, assists and death counters of both players and teams as well.
  
• Changed infection to be cured whenever a Survivor dies (to prevent several issues).
  
• Changed team selection to assume Survivors when the round started.
  
• Fixed Zombies being able to Zombie skip and join back as Survivor or Spectator or just stay in the Lobby.
  
• Removed "sv_zps_hardcore 2" since it's a duplicate of using "sv_zps_hardcore 1" and "sv_voice_proximity 1".
  
• Reworked the entire team selection logic for performance and stability.

zpo_shreddingfield

• Added breakable glowing materials for the boards over the Playground Zombie spawn doorway.
  
• Added "info_player_start" as a fail safe if there's no available Zombie spawn points which gets teleported around for different objectives.
  
• Adjusted Zombie spawn management to hopefully prevent spawns from breaking sometime around Parking Lot objectives.

• Potential fix for various hit registration issues related to hit boxes and collision boxes.
  
• Changed "switch to phone" key behavior, if you have the phone currently selected and press "switch to phone" again, it will switch to the last weapon you were holding (or hands as last resort).

• Fixed AFK checker not ignoring clients during their connection process.
  
• Fixed crash related to score history (used to determine assists).
  
• Fixed crash when force infecting a Survivor.
  
• Fixed crash when picking up barricade plank as ammo.
  
• Fixed crash when trying to respawn a Zombie while a Carrier is roaring and no valid Zombie spawn was available.
  
• Removed Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2 Xbox Live Rich Presence (used in the Xbox 360 port of The Orange Box) and Portal chapters/challenges systems.

• Fixed "bad ragdoll" messages preventing ragdolls to spawn.

• Updated FGDs to match entity changes described here.
  
• Updated FGDs to set the "Generate +USE output" spawnflag on physics brushes/props off by default.

• [Health] Removed the "scan-lines" effect on the digits when playing as Zombie.
  
• [Health] Restored the Half-Life 2/legacy ZPS animations when it updates.
  
• [Inoculator] Changed the "X wants to heal you" text to flash white and green. This is an attempt to catch your attention that someone is trying to heal you.
  
• [Inoculator] Fixed various alignment and sizing issues.
  
• [MP3 player] Added an option (and client CVAR) to hide it permanently.
  
• [Scoreboard] Disabled "right-click with the mouse while having the scoreboard shown to take it's control" behavior.
  
• [Scoreboard] Made Spectators being able to see infected Survivors again.
  
• [Spectator] Removed the top bar and it's contents (the map and timer are shown in the scoreboard already).
  
• Removed Half-Life 2's "inventory history" panel (ammo pickup, item pickup, ammo denied).

• Added "sv_zps_spectators_alltalk [0/1]" (0 by default) server CVAR. If enabled, Spectators can speak to and hear others teams, this applies to the opposite direction as well. The other teams still have their restriction of "team only talking" (Survivors can't speak to and hear Zombies same in the other way). In order for this to work, "all talk" must be disabled ("sv_alltalk 0") otherwise it won't do anything.

• [Magnum] Fixed "recoil skip" glitch.
  
• [Phone] Potential crash fix when deploying it in certain custom maps.

We're rolling out a quick hotfix that address few issues on v3.2.3 update. Server owners are required to update their servers. The following changes are:

• Changed "random character" to really randomize the character selection instead of randomly choose once and keep the same character.
  
• Fixed infected Survivors not changing to their respective infected model after being turned into a normal Zombie or Carrier.
  
• Fixed Survivors being able to play with the Carrier model/VO with the "random character" option.

• Fixed inconsistencies with limited spawn points logic.
  
• Fixed players being able to join Zombie team when round is starting.
  
• Fixed players being unable to spawn as a Zombie in both Warmup and Test modes.

zps_cinema

• Added a few more trash cans in the hallways.
  
• Added more Survivor spawn points outside.
  
• Added triggerable sounds for the hand dryers in the Bathroom, and a water dripping sound in the sink.
  
• Reduced the size of the trigger that activates the Zombies spawns outside, and adjusted how it works.
  
• Slightly expanded a closet in Cinema 2 Projector Room and added a few more physics props.

Hey everyone! We're shipping a very important patch today focusing on game performance & stability, significant adjustments to shotguns, Zombie lives and other minor fixes. This update includes minor code optimizations in an attempt to fix the micro-lag spikes over the past versions. Server owners are required to update their servers to receive the latest changes.

• Flipped mute and gag actions to match SourceMod's behavior (gag = text, mute = voice).

• Fixed shutdown log message being treated as an error instead of simple information.

• Re-added deprecated "Disable", "Enable" and "Toggle" outputs from v3.0.x to spawn point entities for backward compatibility. Mappers using these outputs are encouraged to update their maps to the "DisableSpawn", "EnableSpawn", and "ToggleSpawn" entities that have been there since v2.4/v3.1+.
  
• Various optimizations to the player code.

• Added a maximum limit of 24 starting Zombie lives when the round starts. Custom plugins can still override this limit. For servers with more than 24 player slots, the maximum limit scales with their slot count.
  
• Adjusted starting Zombies lives formula.
  
• Changed intermission time from 5 to 10 sec (to match the round end report time).
  
• Fixed Lobby and Spectator players being counted while calculating starting Zombies lives.
  
• Fixed not being able to join teams other than Survivors during Warmup.
  
• Fixed SourceMod nominate/Rock The Vote results being ignored.
  
• Reworked the entire spawn point selection logic in order to optimize its performance.
  
• Zombie lives are now decreasing when a Zombie is killed instead of when respawning.

zpo_tanker

• Fixed some game text from overlapping Zombie's group HP display.

• Updated English and French translations for the admin system change.

• Fixed infinite loop glitch when dropping and picking up barricades.

• Updated FGDs to fix a lot of inconsistencies with spawn entities.

• Changed colored parts of crosshairs to be opaque.
  
• Fixed crash involving a bad player pointer and badge rewards.
  
• Updated debugging overlay.

• Made adjustments to shotguns (spread, base damage, damage multipliers, damage drop off).
  
• [Remington 870] Updated deploy and dry fire animations.

Be sure to let us know of any game issues encountered after today's patch in our forums!

We're rolling out another small patch today that address few issues with the v3.2 update. Server owners are required to update their servers to receive the latest changes.

• Fixed some missing cases when it comes to banning clients.

• Added "Menu.SetBack(bool state)" and "Menu.SetNext(bool state)" methods.
  
• Fixed "CZP_Player.AmmoBank(AmmoBankSet eAmmoSet, AmmoBankSetValue eAmmoSetValue, int &in iAmount)" crashes when manipulating barricades.
  
• Fixed "CZP_Player.AmmoBank(AmmoBankSet eAmmoSet, AmmoBankSetValue eAmmoSetValue, int &in iAmount)" not updating the selected ammo type.
  
• Fixed "Engine.EmitSoundEntity(CBaseEntity@ pEntity, const string &in strSoundFile)" always following the world instead of "pEntity".
  
• Fixed "Engine.Ent_Fire(const string &in strName, const string &in strAction, const string &in strValue, const string &in strDelay)" not being able to manipulate entities by their classname. Do note that this will impact ALL instances, not a single one!

• Fixed "Carrier spotted a Survivor" VO not being played correctly.
  
• Fixed missing teeth texture on Paul Survivor model.
  
• Fixed rigging on Marcus Zombie model.
  
• Fixed walking animations being used when ducking.
  
• Removed duplicate "Carrier spotted a Survivor" entry in Carrier's sound script

• Reworked the spawning behavior of barricade piles when they still have the obsolete "halfpile" property and/or an invalid board count. Instead of deleting the barricade pile, it spawn with a default value. A warning in the console is printed to remind level designers to update their map accordingly.

• Fixed some server crashes involving Carrier, random infection and Hardcore.
  
• Removed the uncrouch restriction when being on ladders.
  
• Reworked some AFK checker logic in an attempt to fix clients not being teleported back to lobby.

• Added gibs for more prop models.
  
• Fixed LCD screen props not having the "allowstatic" key/value pair in them.

• Fixed some missing cases of "nextlevel" and "sm_nextmap" not syncing themselves (for servers running SourceMod).

• Fixed minimal and flip view models options not being saved through ZP Options.
  
• Removed the final extra space in the chat message when requesting ammo.

• [Crowbar] Reduced a tiny bit the delay between swings.
  
• [Magnum] Made the deploy slightly faster
  
• [PPK & USP] Made the non-empty reload slightly faster.
  
• [Remington 870] Made the pumping and reload looping sequences slightly faster.
  
• [Winchester] Made the reload ending sequence slightly faster.

We've shipped an important update that fix a few issues with the v3.2 patch. Server owners are required to update their servers to receive the latest changes.

• Fixed "OnMenuExecuted" Angelscript hook not working.
  
• Fixed regression with SourceMod menus.
  
• Potential fix for any Zombie Vision related client crashes.
  
• Potential fix for the server lag problem at high player count.
  
• Updated Contributors list.

We'll continue monitoring any further issues and fix them in the upcoming patches as soon as possible. Be sure to report bugs and provide any feedback in our forums. Check out the latest announcement here: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/17500/view/5821441368793049534

We've released a hotfix for v3.2 to attempt to fix an issue causing the server tickrate to drop and lag.

This update reverted the "simulate physics at server's tick rate" fix.

Please let us know about any other issues you experience!

NOTE: We're aware of an issue that seems to be causing the server tickrate to drop and lag when there's about 18 players on the server. We're very sorry for the inconvenience, and we are investigating what's causing the problem. We'll release hotfixes when we determine what the problem might be, but if necessary we will end up reverting back to v3.1.3. If you have any information about this problem, please be sure to let us know!



Hello everyone, the v3.2 update is finally released! Your game (clients) should update automatically, but if not then you should be able to trigger the update by restarting Steam. Server operators be sure to backup any config files or other things you don't want overwritten before you update your servers.

Please be sure to;

• Provide your feedback about things to us on our Steam Discussion Boards!
  
• Report any bugs or issues you find so we can fix them!
  
• Share your ideas and suggestions with us!
  
• Ask for help troubleshooting any problems you might have!

If you didn't see the v3.2 Release Date & Information announcement - you might want to go check it out to see previews of some of the changes, and information about other things that you won't see in this announcement.
https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/17500/view/5875511837815101277

• Adjusted "Pizza Delivery" achievement's time.
  
• Fixed bots, late joiners and SourceTVs being able to earn achievements.

• Added a warning system. Administrators with the ban permission can issue the "admin warn <target> <reason>" command to issue a warning to a specific client. After 3 warnings, a one hour ban is triggered automatically. The command "admin warnlist" can be issued to list warnings. The warning list is saved as "warninglist.dt" in the server's "zps" folder.
  
• Added the ability to add/set/remove administrators and target clients through their Steam ID 32 (STEAM_*:*:********) and Steam ID 3 ([U:*:********]) in addition to the existing Steam ID 64 (765**************).
  
• Fixed administrator removal command being logged as "administration addition".
  
• Fixed bots being kicked incorrectly when using the "admin kick" command.
  
• Fixed clients being able to bypass "mute/gag" restrictions by disconnecting/reconnecting/retrying.
  
• Reworked the ban system to be more efficient.

• Added "as_showcommands" console commands to print all commands created by Angelscript plugins.
  
• Added "array<int>@ Utils.FindEntityInSphere(Vector& origin, float& size)" to the API.
  
• Added "CBaseButton" class to the API.
  
• Added "CBaseButton@ ToBaseButton(CBaseEntity@ pEntity)" to the API.
  
• Added "bool CBaseButton.IsLocked()" to the API.
  
• Added "CZP_Player::GetTeamSpawnPointClassname()" to the API.
  
• Added "Entities::OnItemDeliverEquipped(CBaseEntity@ pItem)" hook to the API.
  
• Added "Entities::OnItemDeliverDropped(CBaseEntity@ pItem)" hook to the API.
  
• Added "Entities::OnItemDeliverUsed(CBaseEntity@ pItem, CBaseEntity@ pReceiver, int iUseType)" hook to the API.
  
• Added "Globals.SetCustomBulletsPushForce(float flForce)" to change the physics push force of bullets (this will mark the server as "Custom" and disable achievements).
  
• Added "Globals.SetCustomMeleePushForce(float flForce)" to change the physics push force of melee weapons (this will mark the server as "Custom" and disable achievements).
  
• Added "Menu API" to build menus like SourceMod.
  
• Added "OnPlayerEscape(CZP_Player@ pPlayer, CBaseEntity@ pEntity)" hook to the API.
  
• Added "RoundManager.DecreaseCurrentRoundTime(float value)" to the API.
  
• Added "Utils.StripColors(const string &in strMessage)" to the API.
  
• Fixed crashes when using methods from "Globals" during map shutdown.
  
• Fixed "Engine.EmitSoundEntity(CBaseEntity@ pEntity, const string &in strSoundFile)" not applying sound filters.
  
• Fixed file system lock with scripts being included, you should be able to edit scripts while the game is running.
  
• Fixed "Globals.PlayMusic" not recognizing "network streams".
  
• Fixed inconsistencies with existing custom push force methods.
  
• Fixed some memory leaks related to script files.
  
• Marked "CZP_Player.GrabTeamSpawn()" for deprecation.
  
• Replaced STL C++ file system implementation by Source's, this means that plugins inside addons/download/custom folders works.
  
• Reworked all "Ent_Fire" functions in "Engine" class to fix a buffer overflow as well to support string arrays.

• Added a "flip view models" option/CVAR similar to Counter-Strike: Source/Team Fortress 2. Does not work for the phone to prevent major visual glitches.
  
• Added a new "minimal view models" option/CVAR similar to Team Fortress 2. Works only for firearms.
  
• Changed view model FOV maximum value to "80".
  
• Fixed typo on badge announcement option.
  
• [Linux] Potential fix for the black screen problem when using anti-aliasing.
  
• Removed Source SDK 2013's haptics, joystick, rumble, force feedback and Mumble's positional audio support. It requires a huge amount of work to get those working properly with ZPS and we are not interested into fixing those issues.
  
• (Audio Engine) Added "non-blocking" loading mechanism to prevent client (micro-)freeze when loading an in-game music.
  
• (Audio Engine) Fixed "next track" being used instead of "random track" when the current one was over.
  
• (Audio Engine) Fixed HTTPS not being recognized as a network stream.
  
• (Audio Engine) [Linux] Fixed non-MP3 files not being recognized.
  
• (Audio Engine) Made a cleaning and optimization pass on the entire engine.
  
• (Audio Engine) Removed music fading while sound cues (round start, round end...) were playing.
  
• (Audio Engine) Updated FMOD Studio Core to v2.01.10 (stability and performance).
  
• (Zombie Vision) Changed the glowing formula, Survivors need to be fatigued a little in order to glow.
  
• (Zombie Vision) Changed the light radius values to 256, 1024 and 2048 Hammer units which are the minimum, default and maximum values respectively.
  
• (Zombie Vision) Fixed incorrect descriptions in physics highlight color CVARs.
  
• (Zombie Vision) Fixed inconistencies when toggling on/off physics/doors highlight options.
  
• (Zombie Vision) Optimized a bit the highlight code.
  
• (Zombie Vision) Panicking Survivors are now fully glowing in red.

• Updated the Steam API library to the v1.51 version.

• Added a new "always valid" property for spawn points. If enabled, this will skip the line of sight and proximity checks. Keep in mind that the spawn point itself has to be enabled for this property to work.
  
• Added a new "barricades count" property for barricade piles.
  
• Added a new "team filter" property when using brush based doors.
  
• Added "OnPlayerEscape" output to "trigger_escape" for level designers.
  
• Added "RemoveTime", "ToMinutes" and "ToSeconds" inputs to "logic_hardcoretimer".
  
• Added "SetSurvivorLabel" and "SetZombieLabel" inputs to "info_beacon".
  
• Fixed a potential infinite recursion when parsing the "angle" key/value pair.
  
• Fixed a potential memory leak when "prop_dynamic" try to create bone controllers.
  
• Fixed a bug where the function responsible for entities names matching could give false results.
  
• Fixed crash involving filters and bad checks (thanks Moonwalker).
  
• Fixed crash where "logic_player_manager" could give invalid weapons.
  
• Fixed "draw equipped" property not working on "item_deliver".
  
• Fixed "random_" entities requiring an extra Survivor if the "Min. Survivors" key/value pair was used.
  
• Fixed the "Disable" and "Enable" inputs on "trigger_useable" not working.
  
• Removed the "half pile" property in barricade piles.
  
• Removed Half-Life 2's Airboat, Jeep, credits and introduction script entities.
  
• Removed Source SDK 2013's internal test entities and commands ("stress entities", "traceline tester"...)
  
• Reworked some logic in "logic_hardcoretimer".
  
• Updated "prop_door_rotating" logic with their "func_areaportal" (area portals on partially/fully destroyed doors are always "opened").

• Added a new lesson for ammo management as Survivor.
  
• Changed the Game Instructor toggle to be "global" instead of "some lessons" only.

• Changed jumping to be denied when standing on a player's head, and when standing on a breakable barricade plank placed by Survivors.
  
• Changed unducking behavior to be denied while airborne in order to prevent the "crouch/jump spam" abuse. Do note that this change does not apply while being underwater (otherwise it would be impossible to get out of water in certain scenarios).
  
• Fixed jumping fatigue not being applied.
  
• Made an optimization pass to the game movement code.

• Added a 3 seconds cooldown before re-joining the Spectators/Lobby teams to prevent abuse.
  
• Infected Survivors will drop all delivery items once they turn to prevent griefing.
  
• Changed random Survivors infection algorithm to prioritize clients who played the least as starting Zombie.
  
• Changed round restart logic to not teleport clients still reading the game info panel (MOTD, map description...)
  
• Changed starting Zombies amount formula.
  
• Denied "explode" and "kill" console commands execution when round is starting (does not apply to their administrator counterparts).
  
• Fixed AFK checker not dropping the current weapon/item.
  
• Fixed a mistake involving an unfair starting Zombie selection when two players shared the same starting Zombie count.
  
• Fixed auto-infection not working on Hardcore and Objective.
  
• Fixed barricade planks health not being saved and restored properly when dropping them as "ammo".
  
• Fixed bug where servers would be shown as "Custom" by mistake.
  
• Fixed game description being HL2:DM's "Teamplay" instead of using ZPS's system.
  
• Fixed green inoculator effect being longer if the server was running the same map for a long time (thanks XeroX).
  
• Fixed "info_player_carrier" spawn points being ignored when attempting "roar spawning".
  
• Fixed rare cases of Spectators and Lobby clients being able to disable spawn points.
  
• Fixed "roar spawning" checking only for the "best roaring Carrier" and not the others ones.
  
• Fixed spawn validity not being checked during "roar spawning".
  
• [Hardcore] Added a new server CVAR "sv_zps_hardcore_dynamic_timer" to control if Zombies can earn round time extensions by killing Survivors (default = enabled).
  
• [Hardcore] Changed pills cure behavior to cure regardless if infection was known or not.
  
• [Hardcore] Changed the formula calculating how many Zombie lives to set at round start.
  
• Improved server performance when respawning clients.
  
• Improved the proximity checker algorithm (spawning inside other players is less frequent but can still happen).
  
• Increased the infection time from Carrier's claws.
  
• Increased the Zombies lives limit from 24 to 99.
  
• Increased Zombies Feed-O-Meter recharge rate.
  
• Potential fix for the invisible supplies bug.
  
• Reduced stamina drain rate while running as Survivor, you can run for a longer period of time.
  
• Reduced stamina regeneration rate when walking as Survivor, it takes more time to recover your stamina while walking.
  
• Removed Source SDK 2013's developer commentary mode, leftovers of Half-Life 2: Episodic's "survival game rules", "Tactical Missions" and leftovers of unused Team Fortress 2's team system with it's entities.
  
• Removed the "wait for deploy, reload, unload to finish" restriction for interactable objects like doors, buttons and so on. The restriction still applies to supplies.
  
• Reworked the footsteps sounds logic to play them quieter and less frequently for everyone when walking (except Zombies).

• Fixed English Marcus bio being cut.
  
• Updated French in-game localization (thanks Shepard) and Simplified Chinese achievements, in-game and Steam Rich Presence localization (thanks Klowby).

• Fixed grammatical mistakes in maps descriptions.

• Added more furniture outside of the Conference Room above Lab.
  
• Added more bushes in the planter right outside of Big Hall beside the Zombie spawn and slightly lowered the brightness of the lights above those plants in HDR
  
• Added player clipping to small tables and the red lights on the helipad so they can easily be stepped over.
  
• Changed some vending machines in the Cafeteria into prop_static.
  
• Clipped spots throughout the level to help prevent items from falling into unreachable places.
  
• Possibly fixed a rare glitch where the helicopter could have the incorrect position in the world and rotate oddly when landing.
  
• Improved spawn management to keep Zombies spawning close to the active objective. (No more spawning by the Basement when the current objective is at the Helipad.)
  
• Fixed a player clip in Big Hall that you could get caught on and float in the air.
  
• Improved optimization.
  
• Fixed infinite stamina glitch with delivery items.
  
• Put a Survivors and physics clip on the Zombie spawn beside Lab to keep Survivors and their items out of the spawn.
  
• Reduced the reflectivity of many textures throughout the level.
  
• Vents that cannot be broken by the Zombies no longer glow in Zombie Vision.

• Added some camper beans. (Replaced some of the static metal can props with camper beans.)
  
• Adjusted the balancing of items to player count. Rifles no longer spawn until there's 5 Survivors, now Winchesters will spawn at that player count instead.
  
• Fixed the beacon on the button to open the Warehouse.
  
• Replaced the static AK-47 spawn in the fuse box room with a random Shotgun spawn (Winchester or Super Shorty) that ignores the limiter and always spawns.
  
• Tripled the range on the glow of the generator.

• Fixed the bosses office having an incorrect HP value.
  
• Fixed major clipping issues to prevent griefing with delivery items.
  
• Made an optimization pass.
  
• Updated C4 planting mechanic, you must hold PRIMARY ATTACK to plant it.

• Added a Zombie only ladder on the corner pole of the porch at the front of the house. (Where the vines are.)
  
• Added extra beacons and highlights on some objectives to help navigation.
  
• Adjusted physics clipping all around the level to prevent items from going into unreachable areas. In certain places thrown live grenades or I.E.D.s are able to pass through the physics clipping, like the windows and doors on the House.
  
• Adjusted the triggers on the truck to make sure it can't be prevented from moving by players or items.
  
• Adjusted fade distance on many of the props outside (like bushes, corn, and fencing).
  
• Adjusted health of the bridge, some doors, and various props.
  
• Adjusted the amount of supplies, and their balancing depending on the player count.
  
• Adjusted time before the broadcast start playing on low players count.
  
• Improved spawn management to keep the Zombies spawning close to the active objective. (Zombies will now only spawn on the road when the truck has stopped.)
  
• Added emergency alert beeps to the broadcast.
  
• Added more player clipping throughout the level to prevent players from getting into areas they shouldn't.
  
• Added skins to the TV so there's static and an emergency broadcast screen.
  
• Adjusted most lighting.
  
• Changed the escape win/lose formula, only one Survivor escape is enough to win the map.
  
• Changed fuse and keys spawning mechanic to prevent griefing. Infinite copies of the items can be grabbed from their spawn points. But if 5 or more copies exists in the world, they are deleted to prevent the server from crashing. (Copies in player inventories are not deleted.)
  
• Changed the fuse and escape objectives to be capture points, giving a chance for Zombies to catch up to Survivors during these objectives.
  
• Clipped the shack and fencing beside it outside to prevent Survivors from going behind them and hiding.
  
• Added more detail throughout the level.
  
• Made barricade and breakable doors glow red for Zombies when using Zombie Vision.
  
• Made doors on the Barn breakable after radioing the military (prevents bottleneck Zombies in tunnel).
  
• Made the big metal cabinet on the Barn's second floor spawn only on high player count.
  
• Removed shortcut to the Bridge (the crates on the pickup truck).
  
• Retextured the chimney with bump maps.
  
• The red lights in the Basement will no longer turn off when the generator is turned on.

• Fixed lamps in the warehouse being destructible.
  
• Fixed Zombies being able to turn the gas valve.

• Added beacons and outlines to help inform players of their objectives.
  
• Added Zombie spawns on top of the roof beside the garage. This is to prevent Survivors from using the road as a "chokepoint" to kill Zombies coming from the bus spawn area.
  
• Adjusted how the Garage objective activate and progress.
  
• Adjusted clips to allow Zombies to use the shortcut over the alleyway door, also added a ladder near the rooftop Zombie spawn to get up onto that ledge to take the shortcut.
  
• Adjusted the amount of supplies, and how it's balanced to player count.
  
• Improved spawn management to keep the Zombies spawning close to the active objective. (No more spawning by the Police Station when the objective is at the Parking Lot.)
  
• Changed the side door entrance into Market to unlock by Survivors only with a button instead of a trigger.
  
• Changed the "gas syphoning" objective to work like a capture point.
  
• Physics clipping has been improved to help prevent Survivors items from going into unreachable places, and still allow grenades or I.E.D.s to be thrown through in certain places.
  
• Player clipping has been adjusted in some areas.
  
• Fixed cart being pushable from weird directions.
  
• The radio is no longer breakable.
  
• Made an optimization pass.
  
• Made the breakable wall on the Zombie spawn in the parking lot glow red for Zombies, and balanced the walls health to player count.
  
• The Survivors can no longer access the Playground, and the Zombie spawns in the Playground have been moved further out of sight when looking into the area.
  
• Unlocked the partially broken metal door in the Police Station basement.

• Removed the ability for Survivors to exploit the Zombie clip at the boat's front by camping on a tiny spot (don't try it or you'll regret it).
  
• The water inside of the ship will no longer kill you.

• Added more clips and "keys only" teleporters to prevent keys griefing.
  
• Added player clips on top of ladders.
  
• Added player clips to the railings in café so players can't crouch through them.
  
• Changed some of the "prop_physics_multiplayer" in the Cafe that couldn't be moved to "prop_static" instead (performance).
  
• Disabled shadows on all rotating doors.
  
• Fixed battery clips and teleporters not being big enough to prevent griefing.
  
• Fixed blue siren glow on police car in lobby being badly positioned.
  
• Fixed broken blue doors between terminal and outside.
  
• Fixed existing keys teleporters not being big enough.
  
• Fixed incorrect translation key for lockdown objective.
  
• Potential Z-fighting fix for one door in the terminal area.
  
• Removed block bullets textured brush on one of the fences by Tower which the Zombies could eventually approach from.

• Added Survivor clips inside Zombie spawns in the basement.
  
• Adjusted volume of vending machine sound in arcade.
  
• Changed how arcade machines turn off.
  
• Changed some "prop_physics" to "prop_physics_multiplayer".
  
• Fixed armor spawn in a locker in the basement.
  
• Fixed infinite stamina when carrying delivery items.

• Added delicious camper beans.
  
• Added Survivors clip in front of Zombie spawns in the water.
  
• Removed player clips on the bridge's sides, allowing players to jump over the sides into the water.

• Reduced amount of supplies.

• Fixed infinite stamina when carrying delivery items.
  
• Made more barricade boards, shotgun ammo, and pistol ammo spawn.
  
• Opened up the back alley industrial area at low player count (less than 9 players).
  
• Replaced 3rd floor Zombies spawn room in the back alley industrial area by the 2nd floor for performance reasons. Survivors can no longer go there.
  
• Improved optimization.
  
• Added some vehicles in the Park as cover for Zombies, and added an opening in the chain link fence.

• Fixed an issue where console commands could have junk data upon their creation.
  
• Fixed duplicate entries in some materials that were causing errors in console.
  
• Fixed melee, panic VO being played underwater.
  
• Fixed normal pain VO being played underwater instead of the underwater one.
  
• Fixed underwater death VO being played underwater only if the killing blow was drowning.
  
• Minor visual updates to characters models.

• Changed client-sided ragdoll physics simulation rate to match the server's tickrate.
  
• Changed physics simulation rate to match the server's tickrate.
  
• Fixed rough scrape friction sounds being used instead of smooth ones for low physics friction.

• Added third person walking animations.
  
• Fixed bounding and collision boxes not being scaled if modded servers would scale up and/down the size of a player.
  
• Fixed Zombie taunt voice line not being played after completing infection if another voice line was currently being played.
  
• Potential fix for spastic player models on moving platforms when throwing props at them.

• Added a Steam ID 32 column (alongside the existing Steam ID 64) to the "status" console command.
  
• Added "impulse 103" cheat to silence camping/coughing sounds when being idle.
  
• Added "sv_zps_late_join_time" CVAR which allow servers operators to specify how long the late join period last in seconds (minimum = 0, maximum and default = 60).
  
• Changed "nextlevel" CVAR behavior for servers running SourceMod. The CVAR will now sync itself with "sm_nextmap". Using Angelscript plugins and/or the built-in map vote system will also impact "sm_nextmap". This fixes various issues such as inconsistent map background loading images when switching maps.
  
• Changed the "self infection" cheat from "impulse 102" to "impulse 104" (to prevent overriding Source's "impulse 102" spawn gib cheat).
  
• Fixed checks for lag compensation sessions start being too late.
  
• Fixed "server.cfg" & "server_hardcore.cfg" having obsolete ZPS v3.0 CVARs. Servers operators might want to backup these files before updating their servers in case SteamCMD overrides it!
  
• Removed several "impulse" cheats related to Half-Life: Source and Half-Life 2(: DeathMatch).
  
• Removed Source SDK 2013's internal game stats system (used internally by Valve for QA purposes).

• [FGD] Fixed "human defend" and "human destroy" being swapped for "info_beacon".
  
• [FGD] Updated description of door filters.
  
• [FGD] Updated some of the entities mentioned above to include their additions/changes.
  
• [VBSP, VVIS & VRAD] Increased the threads limit from 16 to 32.
  
• [VBSP] Fixed smoothing groups not being applied to detail brushes.

• Added a button to toggle player mute in the player list dialog.
  
• Added admin unmute/ungag actions to context menu in player list dialog.
  
• Added an icon for the health HUD telling Survivors when they are under green inoculator effect.
  
• Added barricade planks to "I need ammo" voice command.
  
• Added menu animations for SourceMod/Angelscript.
  
• Added new ammo icons for the Glock 17.
  
• Added "{selfteam}" color for chat messages. It sets the color of the local client (not the one who's writing the message).
  
• Added Steam's text filtering feature for the text chat (disabled by default, can be turned on/off with a client CVAR and/or in the ZP Options, filter's severity depends on the settings of your Steam account, a game restart is required to take changes into account).
  
• Added Steam ID 3 to the debugging overlay.
  
• Added the ability for Spectators to see client names in free roam view mode by aiming at them.
  
• Changed the double click behavior in player list dialog to mute/unmute instead of showing the user's Steam profile.
  
• Changed the font for the game instructor and game progress HUD in order to provide better compatibility with languages that uses kanji characters (Simplified/Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean...)
  
• Changed scoreboard to no longer show infected players to clients who are in the Lobby and Spectator teams.
  
• Changed Zombies lives HUD to be visible to Spectators.
  
• Fixed ammo bank HUD digits and labels not being shown on 2k/4k resolutions.
  
• Fixed cursor still being shown and moveable when holding any voice menu button down after turning from infection (thanks Shadow Walker).
  
• Fixed rare cases when the map description could be broken.
  
• Fixed scoreboard not sorting by "kills" if the "display and sort by kills" option was used.
  
• Fixed SourceTV being shown in the player list dialog.
  
• Fixed voice bans from the player list dialog not being saved/restored properly. This fix added a "side-effect": if you mute a player, it will also "gag" him (you will no longer receive text messages from him in the text chat). This change has been added by Valve since Source SDK 2013 and if you want to revert to the old Source SDK 2007/ZPS v2.4 behavior where muting the voice does not "gag" the messages as well, you can check off the "Mute voice also mute text" check box in ZP Options (or set the "cl_mute_all_comms" client CVAR to "0" if you are familiar with the console).
  
• Fixed voice menus still being shown while dying.
  
• Moved the Zombie Vision highlight doors option from "Miscellanous (More)" panel to "Inventory / Zombie Vision" tab.
  
• Removed confirmation dialog when muting/unmuting a player in the players list dialog (administrator commands still requires a confirmation).
  
• Removed Source SDK 2013's auto-aim and Logitech G15 LCD code.

• Added "weapon_cubemap" from Half-Life 2(: DeathMatch) for level designers to debug cubemaps in their map (this is a "cheat" weapon).
  
• [All Firearms] Adjusted sound foley.
  
• [All Firearms] Fixed client/server desync for slide/bolt positions.
  
• [All Firearms except for Assault Rifles] Updated animations.
  
• [M4 and AK47] Updated origin point of the viewmodel on the screen.
  
• [Frag Grenade and I.E.D.] Improved animations + made primary throw animation for Frag Grenade faster.
  
• [Phone] Made deploy/holster animations smoother.
  
• [All 1-Handed Melee] Updated hit, miss, and swing animations.
  
• [All Pistols + Glock 18c] Reduced vertical recoil.
  
• [All Shotguns] Increased the amount of pellets per shot by 1. To compensate, base damage and damage multipliers have been reduced.
  
• [All Shotguns] Slightly increased spreading pattern.
  
• [Barricade Hammer] Reduced the time to hold RELOAD to switch barricade size.
  
• [Item Deliver] Updated viewmodel animations for Camper Beans, Power Cell, Supply Crate, Box of Cans and Gascan.
  
• [Chair] Made the deploy animation longer to prevent an exploit of skipping the attack delay.
  
• [Empty hands] Fixed Survivors being able to über-push props.
  
• [Magnum] Added missing "Unload and Throw" animation and sounds + Improved Use/Grab animations.
  
• [Magnum] Reduced the spread, recoil decay and vertical recoil when "fast firing".
  
• [Magnum] Increased firing rate a little.
  
• [Magnum] Increased view punch a little.
  
• [Magnum] Fixed the recoil skip glitch from quickswitching.
  
• [USP] Increased the spread when "fast firing".
  
• [Winchester] Fixed the "reload animation skip glitch" from quickswitching (shot will be denied if you attempt to do it).
  
• [Winchester] Updated reload and unload logic.

The long overdue v3.2 will be released this Friday (February 18th)! So be prepared to get your servers updated and have some fun! This update focuses mostly on fixing bugs and other issues, as well as improving or adding onto already existing features and content. A full changelog will be posted upon release of v3.2, but we'll talk about some of the changes that are coming right now.




As many of you already know, there is an issue with the players hitboxes when crouching that can make it very difficult to hit the crouching players head. The issue is that the hitbox for the head is sticking outside of the bounding box, which means your hits will not register on that part of the hitbox that is outside of the bounding box.

We attempted to fix this in several ways, but these adjustments caused the side effect of getting stuck in objects when crouch jumping. So unfortunately we had to revert those changes, and we will look into how we can properly fix the crouching hitboxes in the future.

There is another fix we did for this that we will be including in the update, and that was moving the origin of the crouching animation backwards. This makes it so that the front of the head hitbox fits a little better into the bounding box. A side effect of this change is that now there is part of the leg hitboxes sticking out the back of the bounding box, which of course means you won't be able to hit those parts of a crouching Zombie. We thought this was a good compromise in order to be able to hit the head hitbox easier, though.


The yellow line is the bounding box for the player, the parts of the hitboxes outside of the bounding box cannot be hit.


Due to some code left out in the code rewrite for v3.1, players have been able to abuse a function of crouch jumping to make themselves harder to hit while in the air. Players were able to instantly crouch and uncrouch while mid-air, which would shift their position back and forth as quickly as they could press and unpress the button.

We've fixed this by reimplementing a feature of crouch jumping that was used previously in the game. Now whenever you crouch in the air you will stay crouched until you hit the ground. This does not apply to swimming in water because it could prevent a player from being able to get out of a swimmable area that required them to be standing.


There has been updates to some weapon and character animations that will require your workshop addons to be updated in order to be compatible with the adjustments. If you're using workshop addons and you notice issues - you'll want to comment on the page of the workshop item to inform the creator of the problem, and then disable the addon (if it causes you major problems).

To disable an addon go to your main menu and open Extra -> Add-Ons. There you will see a full list of all the workshop addons you are subscribed to. Find the addon that is causing you problems and uncheck the box for it beside the word "Mounted". (Your game may require a restart after this in order to unmount certain files.)


Shotguns had their spread slightly increased, they now shoot 8 pellets (instead of 7) that deal 13 damage each (instead of 14), and all of their damage modifiers have been slightly reduced. Many animations for the shotguns have been adjusted to better balance them too.

Pistols had their vertical recoil (the upward separation of the bullet origin from the crosshair) reduced by 35%.

The Winchester and Magnum both had a fix implemented to prevent exploiting quickswitching in a way that gave them an advantage. You'll no longer be able to quickly bypass Magnum recoil by quickswitching, or skip a duration of the reloading animation for the Winchester by quickswitching.

The Magnum had its firerate very slightly decreased (fires faster), its viewpunch increased, there's more spread to the bullets in the later recoil stages, the vertical recoil (upward separation of the bullet origin from the crosshair) has been reduced, and the recoil decay has been adjusted (to ensure that you will go through all 6 recoil stages).


This patch includes a couple fixes for crashes that have been discovered recently;

• A crash that was commonly occurring on a version of church_skittles due to damage filters. Thanks to Moonwalker for showing us how this crash happened, so that we were able to discover the cause.
  
• A crash that was frequently occurring on zpo_athenaeum (and some other community levels) with the error "CUtlLinkedList overflow! (exhausted index range)". We're still not sure what exactly is causing this issue, but it has been changed to a warning instead of a crash. Thanks to everyone who played this level and brought the crash to our attention.

If you experience any other crashes, then please report them to us here on our Steam Discussion Boards, or in our Discord server! Try to remember as much as you can about the crash, such as; when the crash happens, how it happens or what you think might cause it, what you were doing when the crash occurred, and provide us with any crash dumps created by it. (Check out this thread explaining how to report crashes.)


Many levels have received various fixes for the issues they have. Some common fixes this patch were; adjusting the amount of supplies in levels, and fixing the infinite stamina glitch caused by item_deliver. We recognize that there's still a lot of problems left to fix, though. So there will be more level updates to come in the future. As always, make sure to give us your feedback about what sort of things need fixed or changed!

Let's talk about some of the more substantial changes that levels have received, and show you some previews.

We're beginning adjustments to help prevent griefing with objective items (item_deliver). These adjustments will only apply to Harvest at first, but we'll expand it to all levels that require it in the future if we determine that this change is working out well.

What this change will do is allow all Survivors to take an item_deliver required for level progression, such as the fuse or the keys on Harvest. That way progression through the level cannot be prevented by one player, whether that be intentional or not. There is a limit to how many of these items can be in the world (not counting those in players inventories), so these cannot be exploited to spawn so many that it would cause a server crash.


The bridge inside of the Barn has been re-added, and the staircase to the second floor has been adjusted. Both of those things were done in order to make the Barn more difficult for the Survivors to defend. Because the staircase seemed to be a very powerful bottleneck for the Survivors, and Zombies could have trouble getting past the barricades that were being made there.

The fuse and the truck both utilize a capture point now. After you bring the fuse to the I.E.D., you must stand beside the I.E.D. until the fuse is planted. When the truck comes, you must secure the truck by standing in the back before you can escape. These adjustments were made because Survivors would often complete these objectives quickly before the Zombies even had a chance to get there.

There has also been other improvements to help the Zombies out:

• The breakable objects in the level such as the boards on the windows and doors of the house will now glow in Zombie vision.
  
• Spawn management has been adjusted to keep Zombies close to the objectives, like making sure Zombies spawn by the road when the truck has stopped.
  
• The doors into the Barn can now be broken by the Zombies after the military has been radioed.
  
• There's a Zombie only ladder up onto the porch roof using the vines on the pole near the front door of the House.

(Click the thumbnails to enlarge the image.)



The back alley industrial area is no longer closed off during low player count. The second floor room in that back alley that could be accessed via the ladder is now the Zombie spawn instead of the room above it, and Survivors can no longer access that area.

Part of the fence in the Playground is now broken. A couple of vehicles were added in the Playground to provide more cover for Zombies as well.

(Click the thumbnails to enlarge the image.)



The Zombie spawns are managed better to keep Zombies spawning close to the active objectives. For instance, Zombies will no longer spawn by the Police Station when the objective is at the Parking Lot. There is also a new Zombie spawn on the rooftop beside the Garage that will activate once Survivors get the cart close to the Garage, and will be the only active Zombie spawn point once the Garage is opened.

The gas syphoning objective now uses a capture point that Survivors have to stand inside of in order to syphon the gas. This is to keep Survivors closer to the spawn point and make it more dangerous to syphon the gas. Because Survivors were able to start the gas syphoning and then get far away where they were safer.

There's also more beacons and red outlines to help inform players of their objectives. As well as a list showing what items have been found (for the gas can, hose, and radio).

(Click the thumbnails to enlarge the image.)



You'll now be able to filter (censor) words in the text chat utilizing Steam's chat filtering. This setting will be very useful for content creators to help keep their content clean of profanity and slurs according to their preference, but normal players will also find this useful. You can toggle this setting in Options/Settings -> Zombie Panic! Options -> Miscellaneous (tab), with the setting called "Filter text chat (using Steam)". This setting will be off by default.

You're also able to customize your chat filter in your Account Preferences. You can access these settings by opening the Steam Application and clicking on your username in the top right of the window (1), then clicking on Store preferences (2) and scrolling down to Chat Filtering under the Community Content Preferences section.




Over the past few years it seems like player behavior has become more of a problem than it ever was before. Normally we would leave it to the community servers to police themselves, and make their own decisions about whether a player should be allowed to play on their servers. But this is just allowing players to jump from server to server and continue to cause harm to the community, often time when there's no server admins present to do anything about it.

These players can end up behaving in ways that are extremely destructive to ZPS and its community. They harass and/or discriminate against other players, or other things that can permanently tarnish the experience of playing for people. This is unacceptable, we won't tolerate this behavior. From now on, if we find that a player is behaving in a way that is extremely destructive to ZPS and its community - we will issue a hardcoded ban on their account, preventing them from being able to play in any servers at all.

What is considered to be "extremely destructive" will be left to our discretion. Some examples of things we WOULD consider extremely destructive would be - harassing other players, discriminating against other players, constantly being bigoted in chats (text and voice) or in your user name, DDoSing or attacking the server with the use of exploits to crash it or otherwise prevent users from playing, attempting to ruin public events relating to ZPS.

Some examples of things we would NOT consider extremely destructive would be - rage quitting as Zombie, minor griefing such as destroying teammates barricade boards or blocking doors, or not sharing weapons or ammo with teammates.


We've noticed that several community servers have been able to modify their maxplayer count up to 32. This seems to have been an oversight on our part sometime during the code rewrite. Since players have seemed to enjoy it and server operators have gotten used to it, we've decided that we won't be doing anything to try and lock the maxplayer count to a maximum of 24. The gameplay and levels have always been designed around a maximum of 24 players, and will continue to be unless we ever decide to officially increase the maximum player count to 32.

However, we have updated the starting Zombie count to a max of 5 total Zombies when there's 32 players (1 additional Zombie). We'll also consider updating other things like the amount of items in a level to account for 32 players once we've played with the community more and have figured out what needs to be changed.


There's a major issue with the game being unable to write files sometimes, often resulting in a "Missing map" error after you download a new map. We've tried a few things to fix this, but we're not sure whether it's fixed yet or not.

If you ever get this error, the only way to fix it seems to be by restarting your game and redownloading the map again. In some cases this could take multiple tries.

For server operators it seems that you may be able to prevent issues with downloading levels by keeping them uncompressed. Some community members have reported that storing the levels in compressed ".bz2" format seems to cause this missing map error.

Check out this thread for more details.

We've rolled out the third patch for Zombie Panic! Source v3.1 - focusing on achievement fixes, client and server crashes, game balance and map adjustments, bug fixes, and more! Server owners must update their servers to receive the latest changes.

We've added more Zombie Panic! options based on community feedback regarding the number of door & player gibs, and the ability to toggle Zombie Teammate glow and objective notification displays. We will also be adding an option to adjust the color of the classic ammo bank in an upcoming patch.



Be sure to double-check these options and others you feel could improve your gameplay in Game Options > Zombie Panic! Options > Misc.

With the release of today's update, players will notice improvements to the Survivors' arsenal with respect to Shotgun spread, base damage, and damage drop off - to be more intuitive and more reliable. The Magnum has been nerfed with an increase in its damage drop off - requiring a Normal Zombie to be within about 680 hammer units distance to be killed with one headshot.

Movement speeds have received adjustments in order to better balance them. Survivor walking and panic speeds have been made slightly faster, and stamina regenerates slightly slower. There will also now be a delay before stamina begins to regenerate after pressing walk or crouch. Zombies Feed-O-Meter will regenerate faster now. Normal Zombies also got a slight boost to their base speed, to keep the Carrier from outrunning them too much.

Several official maps have also received significant balance changes. We'll continue making more tweaks based on your feedback!

This feature has been requested by a few people in past years and already implemented into the game in v3.0 for Hardcore mode. Some people would prefer to hear voice communication based on your location rather than listening to the whole team everywhere. Therefore, we decided to build on the existing option and create a separate CVAR command for server owners to set voice proximity in their servers without enabling Hardcore mode.

Now let's dive into the full list of changes below!

• Added new "CBreakableProp" class which is a child of "CBaseEntity".
  
• Added "CBreakableProp.SetBreakable( bool state )" to set breakable state on props.
  
• Added "Globals.SetCustomCarrierArmsPushForce( float flForce )", "Globals.SetCustomHandsPushForce( float flForce )" and "Globals.SetCustomZombieArmsPushForce( float flForce )" to set the Carrier arms, Survivors hands and Zombies arms push force respectively.
  SIDENOTE: Enabling this will mark the server as "Custom" and disable achievements progression.
  
• Re-added "admin unban <steamid3>" CVAR command.
  
• Fixed console variables registers.

• Added CVAR "cl_zps_gibs_life_time" (range = [0;20]) that controls the time in seconds before door/player gibs fade out (default = 20). If set to 0, don't spawn player/doors gibs.
  
• Fixed progress based achievements not working properly.
  
• Fixed clients not downloading Workshop items whose IDs wouldn't fit a 32 bits integer.
  
• Fixed map not being changed when round state is "Waiting For Players".
  
• Players can no longer join the Zombie team when all lives are used (they will join as Spectator instead).
  
• Fixed Carrier role cycling to other dead Zombies.
  
• Fixed players being able to Zombie skip by reconnecting and late joining as Survivor.
  
• Fixed snow ball and tennis ball dealing armor damage.
  
• Fixed Zombie Vision highlighting fatigue on Zombies.
  
• Fixed some sounds muting background music.
  
• Potential fixes for score manager crash on Linux Dedicated Servers.
  
• Potential fixes for flashlight/weapons highlight/Zombie Vision issues.
  
• Various code optimizations.

• Increased Zombie Feed-O-Meter regeneration speed.
  
• Increased Normal Zombie base movement speed slightly (162).
  
• Reduced Stamina regeneration speed.
  
• Increased Survivor walk speed slightly.
  
• Added a delay to when stamina regeneration starts after walking or crouching.
  
• Increased Panic cooldown to 55 seconds.
  
• Increased Panic duration to 5 seconds.
  
• Increased Panic movement speed slightly (206).
  
• Changed consecutive idle (camping) sound delay from 15 to 20 sec.

• All Shotguns now share the same base damage.
  
• Drastically reduced the spread on all Shotguns.
  
• Reduced all Shotguns damage drop off. (They now do damage at longer distances.)
  
• Increased Magnum damage drop off. (One headshot kills on Normal Zombies now only possible within about 680 hammer units distance.)
  
• Increased Shotgun and Magnum weight.
  
• Changes to AK47, Keyboard, Winchester and empty hands view models (fixing sound and other clipping/visual bugs).
  
• Fixed missing texture on Winchester's shells.

• Aquatica
  
  • Added some fences outside to indicate where to go.
    
  • Added better vent shortcuts beacons for Zombies.
    
  • Increased "Antivirus receive" brush trigger.
    
  • Increased random chance to activate easter egg.
    
  • Fine tuned melee weapons around the map.
    
  • Fixed dynamic Zombie respawn timer.
    
  • Fixed the boat randomly disappearing.
    
  • Fixed boat leaving without the Antivirus.
    
  • Made roof outside event teleport better after explosion.
    
  • Removed Survivors 'have to be on boat to win' check.
    
  • Overall map optimization.
• Harvest
  
  • Added a Kevlar vest in the house.
    
  • Added an extra rifle/shotgun ammo box in the house.
    
  • Buffed the reward for doing objectives.
    
  • Fixed bad clipping at the tunnel.
    
  • Reduced the broadcast starting time by 30 seconds.
• Frozenheart
  
  • Added a new Zombie spawn in a store shop building.
    
  • Fixed players being able to go to the roof area earlier.
    
  • Fixed crate not spawning boards and barricade hammer.
    
  • Updated Zombie spawn timers and locations.
• Tanker
  
  • Added Survivor clip in front of the boat to prevent players from not doing objectives.
    
  • Fixed players being able to surf on the water without taking damage.
    
  • Fixed a bed prop fading too close.
    
  • Overall balance changes to ammo and weapon spawns.
• Others
  
  • Changed Zombie respawn delay dynamically on Subway.
    
  • Updated ammo and weapon spawns on Blackout.
    
  • Fixed a clipping spot on Town.

• Buffed suicide penalty.
  
• Fixed inconsistencies between score/kills. (Scores being added to kills, and vice-versa.)
  
• Fixed score and assists not being reset when client reset.
  
• Fixed suicide not subtracting a kill.
  
• Reduced Carrier reward for respawning Zombie using roar.
  
• Reduced Survivor prop/melee and generic kills Zombie multipliers.
  
• Reduced Zombie prop and generic kills Survivor multipliers.
  
• Removed reward for using green inoculator on yourself.

• The Scoreboard can now be viewed during the End Round Results screen.
  
• Added CVAR "cl_zps_hud_draw_badge_reward_announcements" to show/hide the badge rewards (on by default)
  
• Fixed "timeleft" showing negative values.
  
• Fixed some broken English tips.
  
• Potential fix for server browsers related crashes when the Steam API instance is down.

• Added more Contributors as BOT nicknames.
  
• BOTs and SourceTV can no longer earn achievements.
  
• Updated contributors list on Credits.

As usual, we'll continue to work on fixing the remaining game bugs, technical and visual, in the coming weeks. We're planning to release a small Christmas update to wrap up 2020 in good shape, and afterwards take a small break from development. Don't worry, we still will be accepting feedback and working at a slow pace during the holidays, and afterwards beginning to release monthly patches more consistently.


Happy gaming,
Zombie Panic! Team