Jul 31, 2023

7 Days to Die - Hated

Hello Survivors!
Today we have the A21.1 b12 EXP update for you all!
It addresses an issue with airdrops in the current EXP build and has numerous other fixes and changes.

To opt in please follow these steps:

Right click on the game in steam
Click on properties
Click the “betas” tab
The drop down menu will have latest_experimental available <— you want THAT
Select that and wait for the game to download

We recommend you start a new game when participating in EXP.
We are not aware of anything affecting existing savegames negatively.
If you plan on using your regular savegame, we advise of at least making a backup.

Here is what changed since A21.1 b6 EXP:

Added

GameEvent Requirements for Biome, POI and Progression.
FailQuest Action for GameEvents.
OnQuest Requirement for GameEvents.
BuffInjuryBleedingCooldown that adds BuffResistance after bleeding buffs to help reduce consecutive bleeds
Shape blocks support attribute hide_helper_in_creative
Exploding vehicles spawn a loot bag of contents
Dew collector audio.
F8 heat info shows active count and up to 10 events in current area
Count and Count Type to Item Actions for GameEvents.

Changed

Updated colliders on control panel block set to allow projectiles to pass around them easier
Updated the collider for officeChair to allow projectiles to pass under them easier
Updated the collider for hospitalBedPrefab to allow projectiles to pass under/over them easier
Updated the collider for palletsWoodStackPrefab to allow projectiles to pass around them easier
Updated the colliders for drink vending machines to prevent floating items placed on top
Updated collider for industrial_fence_bottom_02
Updated localization for Salvage Operations to say you can gain UP TO the percentage of each perk level. This is due to how harvest events need to be tagged and the amounts of resources that are randomized for general harvest.
Updated food bundles with a couple of mineral waters
Updated the description for food bundles
Updated all forge recipes with is_trackable="false" parameter
Updated collision property settings on rampFrame shapes to allow projectiles to pass through them
Removed the chance to receive buffInjuryBleedingTwo inside buffAbrasionCatch
Reduced the chances of random rolls hitting other crits inside buffOnAnyCrit
Moved corpse removal passive effect to buffStatusCheck02 to prevent item stats from being inflated when near a corpse
Removed corpse removal passive effect from all items and added tag "corpseRemoval" instead
Updated bulletproofShapes with hide_helper_in_creative attribute to hide bulletproofShapes:VariantHelper as it is blank and not needed
Set LODCullScale for the duct block set to cull at approximately the same distance
Reworked critical buff pop out icon colors for consistency. White = Treated, Orange = Untreated, and Red = Severe
Set LODCullScale for several corner pipes to cull at approximately the same distance
Restored the ability to sell pumpkins, yucca, and hops
Adjusted loot lists for T2 Buried Supplies
Updated dysentery localization for water/food cap being removed over time
Updated zombieBusinessManRadiated xp to be in line with other radiated zombies
Removed unused sound noise range, playerOnly, hordemeter and hordeMeterPlayerOnly parsing and storing
Removed misc xml noise parsing
Removed unneeded entity TintMaterial code and xml (caused excess material creation)
Removed unneeded entity ReplaceMaterialx code and xml (caused excess material creation)
AI player inventory tracking only stores specific items so less data handling
Removed sound noise range
Zombies, Zombie Animals, Traders, and Junk Drones now have BuffResistance to buffRadiationPool
Improved AI activity (heat) tracking to use a realtime duration, merge events and remove empty areas
Block activity to 12 min duration and sound to 4
Updated DestroyFX settings for dew collectors

Fixed

No airdrops in A21.1 b6
Switch issue for POIs
Starve command not starving player
GameEvent Requirement for CVar was not working correctly.
Interrupted RWG generation on dedicated servers causes exception when starting the server again with the same settings
Createwebuser command throws exception when used on the Terminal Window
EntityGroups XML parser skipping last line of a group if not terminated with a newline
XML CSV operation now ignoring leading/trailing whitespace when checking for existing values (can be disabled per patch by setting keep_whitespace="true")
Pipe bombs and dynamite can no longer be lit underwater, and are extinguished when entering water. Also adjusted the dynamite and pipe bomb prefabs to correctly show or hide the fuse sparks when they are thrown.
Fixed NRE that can occur when reentering a game not using persistent profiles while your character was last holding a thrown explosive item.
Using auger or chainsaw right before they're done repairing breaks item/hand placement and hand animation. (Fixed a secondary issue when playing multiplayer).
Third person light on the claw hammer with burning shaft mod being much brighter than the light when the mod is applied to other tools
Ranch_01 not using the correct driveway part.
Bookcase in loot room of house_old_victorian_12 was upside down
Newly acquired Stun Batons don't charge on power attacks.
Tech Junkie Volume 6 currently has no effect.
Toolbelt slot memory after death.
Tier0 weapons/tools can be sold in rented vending machines, but have no price anywhere else.
Forum Report : Modded items are not included in the total quantity pop up.
Items craftable in the forge can be tracked, but only show the name of the item, nothing else.
Bacon and Eggs recipe was not properly being reduced with Master Chef Level 3
"Persistent Profiles" setting when creating new game does not initialize to its default settings
None of the shape variant helpers can be found in recipes by their localized names
World Editor Create World size arrows and back button stop responding when size is scrolled down to the custom input value
Nursing_home_01 removed extra microwave.
Fixed rounds per minute firing rate for the doubled barrelled shotgun and implemented new "RapidTrigger" property for ItemActionRanged that allows separate trigger pulls to fire the weapon faster than the roundsperminute rate.
Zombies accidentally damaging dogs, zbears and vultures and vice versa
Electrocutioner perk doesn't fully work on Dedi.
AI activity did not restart when going back in time
Junk drone path smoothing, better door and teleport decision reaction
Armor recipe unlock option level display is missing.
Consistent behaviour across all explosives when underwater cannot be armed but can be thrown. Held armed items that should be extinguished when entering will (grenades, timed charges will not). Also fixed tag on molotov cocktails preventing them from exploding when hit with an explosion like other thrown explosives.
Updated abandoned_house_09 based on feedback
Large_park_02 updates made based on feedback.
Warehouse_06 small block update.
Downtown_building_04 removed misplaced block.
Minor adjustments to sleepers/triggers in weigh_station_01.
Updates to prison_02 based on player feedback.
SI issue in house_old_pyramid_01.
Updates to parking_lot_02 based on player feedback.
Updates to police_station_03 based on player feedback.
Armor recipe unlock option level display is missing.
House_modern_29 - fixed mispainted textures
Wilderness_filler_14 - changes made based on feedback.
Spanish translation for reqAgilityLevel06
If a player is moved away from a loot container they are in, it breaks that player's ability to open loot containers
Repulsor Mod effect applies to teammates, ignoring no friendly-fire setting.
Can't place a bedroll to the right of a bedroll you just put down while facing North
Planted seeds can be lost when picked up too quickly
Japanese water journal tip still mentions empty jars.
Downtown_strip_12 - small update to path to show the path clearer.
BlockSpawn check for missing trader would not happen all the time.
House_modern_27 - fixed a couple minor details.
Radio_station_01 - fixed floating calendar.
Nursing_home_01 - fixed sleeper spawning on sight issue
House_old_modular_03 stuck dog
Key rack connected door was not locked in trailer_01.
Mistake in Japanese translation for trapsT1
Motel_01 sleeper spawn in view of player
Survivor_site_11 sleeper spawn in view of player
House_old_ranch_06 in need of a quick exit
House_modern_12 - Added quick exit.
Japanese translation for armorT1 is wrong.
House_modern_29 - fixed mispainted textures

Jul 20, 2023

A21.1 b6 EXP

7 Days to Die - Hated

Hello Survivors!

Today we bring you our first point release for A21 to Experimental.

To opt in please follow these steps:

Right click on the game in steam
Click on properties
Click the “betas” tab
The drop down menu will have latest_experimental available <— you want THAT
Select that and wait for the game to download

Tier 5 hotel_ostrich
Moderator OzHawkeye to credits
Ability to change prices for twitch actions through Twitch Info Screen.
Ability to reset prices for all twitch actions through Twitch Options Screen.
Loot entries have tags and if set then will ignore if looter has no matching tags
Opening loot container adds masterChef2 loot tag if player has Master Chef level 2
Loot container console command to log the results of opening a container
Extend ClientInfo logging
Prefab ins file read error log
Trader placement protected area of 3 meters on each side
Missing localization for buffBatterupStealingBasesName and buffBatterupStealingBasesDesc
Nest Audio open/close/destroy
ApproachDistraction AITasks added to cop, demo, and mutated zombies

Changed

Twitch: Extended the cooldown times for all supply crates.
Twitch: Extended the cooldown times for all vision effects.
Adjusted point costs for twitch actions to be multiples of 25.
Updated Master Chef progression to use new hard coded masterChef2 tag instead of LootProb
Updated dumpster loot to work with new hard coded masterChef2 tag
Removed unneeded tags from items.xml used in old progression setup
Remove event spawned zombies when Homerun Derby ends.
No longer require overlay if not using Twitch Actions.
Show the current crafting level when showing the unlock level required in the crafting info.
Trader area calculations are done dynamically
Increased trader protected area by 1 meter on each side
Stopped camera shake running at zero strength when no damage
Updated stats on all armor for linear progression
Adjusted vehicle revert collision motion
Broken vehicles take 10% collision damage
Reduced the amount of explosives in Twitch crates by half
Removed explosives from mystery supplies channel point redeem.
Missing collider property and tags on chainlinkGateDouble and chainlinkGateDoubleWide to be consistent with other chain link doors
Adjusted colliders on various bed prefabs
Adjusted colliders on chairCampingPrefab
Updated crossbow/compound crossbow mod slots to mirror .44 magnum/vulture
House_modern_26 replaced regular window by bulletproof windows.
Updated progression for Effective Range and Max Durability stats for tools and weapons
Updated Melee Damage on Steel Club that got missed on the first progression pass
Bows now show Effective Range
Removed hideui tag from roadside_truckstop_01 to allow the localization name to show on the location HUD
Dew Collectors now harvest for components instead of itself with a 50/50 roll for the filter. They still have the land claim block radial menu option to pick up.
Updated valid trees with path solid property
Adjusted colliders on boxesCardboardPalletPrefab and boxesCardboardTilePrefab
Updated several loot lists to prevent 100% Q6 T1 tools in containers after loot stage 55 as it was only intended to be a boost for Working Stiffs crates
Reduced gas production to 2 gas per shale and sped up crafting time
Removed already disabled jiggle script from neck of Demolisher to prevent the head collider from being disabled at a distance
Increased the amount of cloth needed for various recipes
Adjusted the weights on various items that scrap to cloth to adjust for the increased crafting costs
Updated loot lists for generic vehicle loot to not have T2 or T3 weapons\tools
Generic vehicle loot now has a low chance for vehicle skill magazines with another low chance for others
GroupCarWeaponsTools now has a chance for meleeToolSalvageT1Wrench
AmmoGasCan moved from groupRareAutomotive to groupAutomotive
Increased the economic value for ammoGasCan
All Traders now have ammoGasCan for sell
Updated the localization for timed charges to insure players know what they are effective against

Fixed

AirDropFrequency setting for dedicated servers needs to be limited to same choices valid for SP
Stuns do not reset the stun counter when stacked.
Zombie attack can break after receiving fall damage (Hit tag)
Entity vertical movement could cause incorrect results for finding entities in chunks
Floating terrain deco issue in countrytown_business_03.
AI pathing issues with cube_corner_beveled not having the path solid property
#mindwipe does not work correctly on servers.
House_old_mansard_03 stability issue.
Twitch Prime Subs were not registering their events correctly.
Always do authorization cleanup on main thread
Steam game servers list reports incorrect port to connect to game
Robo sledging a player on a vehicle breaks camera
Vehicles could take increased collision damage from blocks due to player block damage setting
Player third person pose (ragdoll/vehicle) would stay in last positions when switching to first person leading to inconsistent hits and possibly ugly anim blends
Sleeper volumes trying to spawn an entity that just died
Vehicles being excessively damaged from separate collision events
Particles did not try to play on a dedi so the player noise creation was skipped, this resulted in different stealth and zombie behavior on servers compared to single player
Wrong tag used to scale the steel when crafting higher quality levels of junk turrets
NRE: Exiting game before camera stops shaking.
Typo with woodenGarageDoor5x3_PoweredOak in the woodenGarageDoor5x3_PoweredBlockVariantHelper causing errors
Typo with woodenGarageDoor5x3_PoweredOak key in localization
Updated trader stage baseTier1 template to allow an overlap between iron and steel tools/weapons
Swapped two wanderingHordeStageGS groups that were out of order
Updated all 3 control panel corner duct prefabs with missing Ref Parent script on the colliders

Jun 5, 2023

A21 Streamer Weekend

7 Days to Die - Hated

Hey Survivors,
We are proud to announce that the ‘Alpha 21 Streamer Weekend’ is finally here. We have partnered with over 190 streamers from 34 countries.
We will be running the Streamer Weekend event from Friday, June 9th starting at 12 pm CST through Sunday, June 11th. Expect a public experimental to follow sometime Monday afternoon June 12th.

Many will be streaming all weekend and giving away Free Game Keys. Check their channels for their upcoming weekend schedules. These are being broadcast in many languages so scroll down to find yours.

List of Streamers

It has been a while since our last major release, December 2021 to be exact. For a year and a half, our growing team has been working hard to bring you Alpha 21. This Alpha delivers more polish, optimizations, updates, quality-of-life improvements, new content, new features, and new gameplay systems than ever before. We say it every Alpha, and we will say it again, this is the biggest and baddest version of the game to date.

If you have never played 7 Days to Die or you have not played it for a while, you’re going to want to check out Alpha 21. Pushing hard towards the Gold Version, this impressive mountain of work could only be achieved by the lengthy, iterative, development style we have gone through. The Fun Pimps dream big and know that nothing of this magnitude comes overnight. Building on an already solid foundation, this update sets the bar even higher for the sandbox, survival, simulation, RPG game genre.

We are very proud of the work, passion, and dedication our team has poured into 7 Days to Die and we hope you enjoy Alpha 21 as much as we have.

The Fun Pimps Team

Environment Art

The environment team has been heavily focused on the design, production, and implementation of hundreds of new high definition and physically based assets to help the world feel more believable and immersive. Additionally, new and updated shaders add a finishing touch to the environments. Below are a few categories of props that have been updated.

Ramp Kits
Platform Kits
Wall Kits
Trader Location Props
Military Props
Biohazard Props
Nature Props
Doors
Signs
Industrial Props
Commercial Props
Church Props
Medical Props
Construction Props
Furniture
Lighting Props
Static Vehicle Props
Wall art
Player Vending Machine
Workbench Workstation
Forge Workstation
Chemistry Workstation
Campfire Workstation
Hero Loot Containers
Graphic Design Art

The graphic design team has been crafting a large amount of high quality graphical elements that breathe life and storytelling into the world. Keep and eye out for these graphic elements listed below.

Food Labels and Posters
Calendars
Wall Art
Schematics
Tractor Logo
Trader Flag
White River Flag
Liquor Packaging
Magazines
Workstation Elements

New Doors

Introducing an exciting range of new doors, including the much-anticipated double doors! These numerous additions bring a level of detail to in-game locations that were previously unimaginable. Moreover, players can now enjoy updated craftable door options, expanding their repertoire of door types to choose from. As an innovative feature, doors gradually deteriorate as they sustain damage, resulting in visible holes that can be utilized for shooting or melee attacks. Be cautious, though, as certain doors may develop holes large enough to pass through without being completely destroyed. Exercise caution and strategize accordingly!

Loot Container Changes

When emptied, smaller containers such as trash bags, backpacks, and bird nests will now be destroyed. On the other hand, larger containers like clothing racks, desks, filing cabinets, and gun safes will transition to an open state once they have been emptied. This update brings a more realistic and immersive experience, as players can observe the visual representation of empty containers while navigating the game world.

World Water

We’ve made visual improvements to prevent water from clipping through semi-solid block shapes, such as thin or rounded wall segments. Under the hood we’ve overhauled water simulation to improve performance, reduce networking traffic, and provide more consistent and natural flow behavior, particularly with respect to large bodies of water such as lakes and rivers.

Hazards

The game has received an exciting update with the addition of a hazard system. This latest release introduces flame hazards that must be deactivated within specific locations in order to advance on your path. While active, these hazards will unleash intense fire damage upon anyone or anything that dares to approach too closely.

Gore

More zombies now utilize the new gore system.

New & Overhauled Locations

Every Point of Interest (POI) in the game has been improved with the massive amount of new art props and 692 new shapes added to Alpha 21. It is a complete overhaul of the art and gameplay experienced in each location.

All Trader locations have been entirely reworked with custom art
There are over 75+ pure new questable POIs
Most POIs (Nearly 400) now support the new Infestation Quest type
New parts & RWG features – Roadside POI spawns
Navezgane has gotten a quite a bit of updates
- Terrain updates
- New POIs added
- perishton_city_blk_01 through 05 (Overhauled Tiles)
- perishton_city_blk_06 (New Tile)
- perishton_tunnel_01 & 02 (New Remnant)
- departure_city_blk_plaza (Overhauled Remnant)

More than 200 POIs have been added or completely overhauled. And every POI in the game has been updated with new Art and Shapes: Some notable POIs include:

Tier 5 POI’s

apartments_02 – “Vanity Tower” (New)
factory_01 – “Shamway Factory” (Overhauled)
house_modern_23 “Dr. Karen Higashi Residence” (Overhauled to Tier 5)
hospital_01 (Overhauled)
installation_red_mesa (Overhauled to Tier 5)
nursing_home_01 – “The Last Sunset Nursing Home” (New)
prison_01 – “Navezgane Corrections” (New)
prison_02 – “Navezgane County Jail” (New)

Tier 4 POI’s

bowling_alley_01 “Pineballs Bowling” (New)
downtown_strip_04 – “Joe’s Junction” (Overhauled to Tier 4)
house_modern_24 “Jeffelon Zuckergates Estate” (New)
junkyard_01 “Ecotrash Recycling Center” (New)
roadside_checkpoint_01 “NDC Checkpoint One” (New)
roadside_checkpoint_03 “NDC Checkpoint Three” (New)
roadside_checkpoint_04 “NDC Checkpoint Four” (New)
roadside_checkpoint_05 “NDC Checkpoint Five” (New)
utility_electrical_co_02 – “Hybrid Energy” (New)

Tier 3 POI’s

apartments_03 – “The Bend Apartments” (New)
army_camp_04 – “Fort Razor” (New)
bowling_alley_02 “Ballzstrike Bowling” (New)
commercial_strip_03 – “Vick Garrison’s Pedipawn” (New)
countrytown_business_11 – “Midway Clinic” (New)
countrytown_business_12 – “Jim & Tim’s Bullets and Booze” (New)
country_junkyard_02 – “Atlas Metal Co.” (New)
commercial_strip_05 – “Elzner’s Emporium” (New)
downtown_strip_12 – “NFD Downtown HQ” (New)
fastfood_06 – “The Burgcaneer” (New)
gas_station_12 “Pass N Gass Plaza” (New)
house_modern_26 (New)
motel_04 “Greg’s Motel” (New)
office_05 – “Tri-Med Group” (New)
office_06 – “Abandoned Office Building” (New)
police_station_03 “NPD 3rd Div.” (New)
post_office_02 “Post Office #2” (New)
radio_station_01 “KZL Radio Station” (New)
ranger_station_01 – “Ranger Station Alpha” (Overhauled)
ranger_station_07 “Ranger Station Golf” (Overhauled)
rest_area_05 “The Road Gentleman Truck Stop” (New)
roadside_checkpoint_02 “NDC Checkpoint Two” (New)
school_daycare_02 “Poopy Pants City Daycare” (New)
store_discount_01 “Three Dollar Store” (New)
utility_substation_01 “Hybrid Energy Substation #1 (New)
warehouse_08 “Johnson’s Warehouses” (New)
weigh_station_01 (New)

Tier 2 POI’s

apartments_04 – “The Budget Borrows” (New)
bank_01 – “Piggy Bank” (Overhauled)
cabin_13 “The Gladue Residence” (Overhauled)
cabin_17 “The Engall’s Residence” (New)
cabin_18 “Our Best Moments” (New)
commercial_strip_04 – “Smorgasbord Square” (New)
downtown_building_04 – “Blaze & Burns Offices” (New)
downtown_building_05 – “Bombshell News” (New)
downtown_parking_lot_01 – “Downtown Evacuation Point” (New)
farm_14 – “Hersh Farm” (New Tier 2)
fastfood_07 – “NEW Mamma Pizza” (New)
house_burnt_02 (Overhauled)
house_modular_04 – “The Wagner Residence” (Overhauled)
house_old_tudor_04 – “R. Thornbury Residence” (Overhauled)
industrial_business_08 – “P&B Machining Co.” (Overhauled)
parking_lot_02 – “Mobile Field Hospital” (New)
radio_station_02 “ZMB Radio Station” (New)
ranger_station_06 – “Ranger Station Echo” (Overhauled)
rural_outdoor_wedding_01 “Bell Lake” (New)
roadside_restaurant_01 “The Wagon Diner” (New)
school_daycare_03 “Fun-Gi Daycare” (New)
store_bakery_01 “Ma Baker & Sons” (New)
utility_substation_02 “Hybrid Energy Substation #2 (New)

Tier 1 and Remnant POI’s

church_02 “Old Creepy Church” (New Tier 1)
countrytown_business_10 – “Bobcat Bar” (New Tier 1)
fastfood_05 – “Beavers” (New Tier 1)
fastfood_01 – “Prowlin Petes” (Overhauled Tier 1)
fastfood_02 – “Hurry Harrys” (Overhauled Tier 1)
fastfood_03 – “Blue Birdie” (Overhauled Tier 1)
house_construction_04 “Deracinated Domicile” (New Tier 1)
house_modern_25 “Rosilyn Residence” (New Tier 1)
house_modular_05 – “The Gilbert Residence” (Overhauled Tier 1)
house_modular_07 – “Spark’s Place” (Overhauled Tier 1)
motel_05 “Motel Eight” (New Tier 1)
park_02 – (Overhauled Remnant)
park_03 – (New Remnant)
parking_lot_03 – “ParKing Lot” (New filler)
park_basketball (Overhauled Remnant)
radio_station_03 “KZZ Radio Station” (New Tier 1)
ranger_station_02 – “Ranger Station Beta” (Overhauled Tier 1)
ranger_station_03 – “Ranger Station Charlie” (Overhauled Tier 1)
ranger_station_04 – “Ranger Station Delta” (Overhauled Tier 1)
ranger_station_05 – “Ranger Station Foxtrot” (Overhauled Tier 1)
remnant_burnt_09 (Overhauled Remnant)
remnant_burnt_10 (New Remnant)
remnant_downtown_filler_03 (New Remnant)
remnant_waste_18 “Pristine Health” (New Remnant)
remnant_waste_19 “Wasted Office Suites” (New Remnant)
rest_area_01 (New Remnant)
rest_area_02 (New Remnant)
rest_area_03 (New Tier 1)
rest_area_04 “Buy N’ Go Rest Stop” (New Tier 1)
store_grocery_04 – “Moe’s Grocery (New Tier 1)
store_grocery_05 – “Boe’s Market” (New Tier 1)
store_grocery_06 – “Joe’s USA (New Tier 1)
survivor_site_05 – “Mercy Point Camp” (Overhauled Tier 1)
survivor_site_06 – “Hog Foot Village” (Overhauled Tier 1)
survivor_site_07 – “Camp Carhwal” (Overhauled Tier 1)
survivor_site_08 – “The Simmons Shanty” (Overhauled Tier 1)
survivor_site_11 – “Cabin Retreat (New Tier 1)
utility_substation_03 “Hybrid Energy Substation #3 (New Tier 1)
wilderness_filler_01 “Shady Slaughter RV” (New Filler)
wilderness_filler_02 “Eerie Echoes Campsite” (New Filler)
wilderness_filler_03 “Hermit Hollow” (New Filler)

POI and Biome Difficulty Improvements

When you enter a POI, a HUD pop up will display its name and difficulty tier which is represented by the number of red skulls. These POI names will also appear on the quest text at the trader.

When you enter a Biome, you will see the biome difficulty represented by the number of orange skulls.

Forest – 0
Burnt (Navezgane Only) – 0.5
Desert – 1
Snow – 1.5
Wasteland – 2

The overall difficulty of the POI and Biome is represented by the number of Red and Orange skulls combined.

With this in mind, the same POI in the wasteland will be more difficult and have higher game staged enemies and loot than the same POI in the forest.

We also have fixed a bug with party game staging. Parties now work as designed and have balanced game staging to provide a better scaled challenge.

POI Localization

Points of interest (POIs) have undergone localization, receiving easily understandable and relatable names. These new names are not only incorporated into the quest system, but are also displayed on the upper right corner of the screen, above the Quest and Recipe Tracker.

Furthermore, if you backed the Kickstarter campaign and pledged for location naming, you will now have the privilege of having a POI named after you.

Infestation Quests

We have added a new quest type we call Infestation which starts at Tier 2. The system takes a supported POI and adds a +1 to its Tier. In an Infestation Quest, the zombie counts are multiplied to create a greater challenge. At the end, it will reward you with a special loot box, almost always found in the loot room. This left Tier 5 POIs with infestation in a bit of a pickle. Tier 5 POIs as an Infestation Quest, can now be found as Tier 6 difficulty POIs.

Random World Generation Update

Random World Generation (RWG) has gone through the biggest iterative updates to date. We have learned something from every previous version we have done so far. It’s not easy to create something nobody has done before, but we are committed to creating Random Generated Worlds better than anyone on the planet and we think you will agree when you play the latest Alpha 21 Random Gen.

The latest release focuses on improving RWG speed, visuals, POI placement, and adding new features to enhance the player experience and addressing several bugs.

Many notable improvements include:

RWG creation speed has been greatly improved. Generation speeds up to 4 to 5 times faster than before have been seen in some cases.
Merging highways between gateway tiles and township rural tiles has been added
A new scoring system for prefab pick ordering, xml entries to help control overall placement, spawn weights, and min max counts ensure POI’s don’t repeat too often.
Country Tiles have been added which give the rural areas more believable surrounds for POIS to spawn
Road smoothing has been greatly improved.
A new street tile system that uses an overworld grid to allow for more concise placement of wilderness, towns, and highways.
A “New Game” button has been added to the Advanced Generation screen to allow players to immediately play the map they have generated without having to remember the map name.

Chunk Reset System

We’ve added a new advanced game option called “Chunk Reset Time”. Enabling this setting will cause chunks to be reset to their original states when left unvisited for a specified in-game duration. Land claims, bedrolls, and other important player-owned objects such as backpacks and vehicles will prevent nearby chunks from being reset; so you don’t have to worry about your home base disappearing, or logging in to find your 4×4 exchanged for a tree which regrew in its place. However, loot containers and workstations which are not within a protected area can be reset, so players who use this feature must be mindful of where they store their valuables.

In effect, this feature allows previously-visited locations to respawn their loot and recover from destruction whilst the player is away. It also helps to reduce save sizes by clearing out stored data for the reset chunks until they’re revisited.

The setting is disabled by default, but can be configured at will in the Advanced tab of the New Game and Continue Game menus.

Survival Rebalance

To enhance the survival experience, water collection has been rebalanced by removing empty jars and cans.
Boiled water now requires a cooking pot to craft in the campfire.
Most “clean” water and drinks have been extremely lowered in loot.
A new Dew Collector workstation has been added to provide clean drinking water.
- Crafted in the player backpack, players will need to visit a trader to obtain a key component: a water filter.
- Water is slowly accumulated over time at a rate of approximately 3 jars every 24 game hours.
- Players can place multiple Dew Collectors
- DewCollectors must have a clear view of the sky.
  - Bars and other “see-through” shapes are acceptable to be placed above.
Drink Vending machines have had quantities increased including specialized drinks.
Due to water used in crafting, glue has been increased in loot, quest rewards, and trader inventories.

Crafting Skills System

Crafting unlocks have been moved out of the Perks System and into a new Crafting Skills System. Players will need to read various quantities of Crafting Skill Magazines in order to progress through the crafting tiers. These magazines are found in loot containers, zombie loot bags, air drops, given as quest rewards, or sold by the traders.

The Crafting Skills System solves two issues:
1. Players won’t be able to skip the progression of tool and weapon tiers.

Previously, players could max out a perk’s crafting quality unlock with primitive tools and weapons and then instantly craft higher tiers once the materials were found or unlocked. A good example of this would be a stone ax that could be crafted at quality 5, but then iron and steel pickaxes could be crafted at that same quality level.

2. Removes the crafting unlocks from perk classes

Players are no longer required to perk into various classes to obtain the unlocks. All crafting skills can be unlocked by all players.
The unlocks are removed from perks, however, each level of a perk will give a probability boost to certain magazines. An example would be the perk Boomstick giving a boost to finding more of the Shotgun Weekly magazines. Boomstick will also boost shotguns, shotgun parts, and the various types of shotgun ammo found in loot.

Perk Overhaul

With crafting unlocks moving to the new Crafting Skills System, perks have been overhauled to be more streamlined for each class.

Sexual Tyrannosaurus has been moved to each weapon perk. Players no longer have to perk into Strength to get the stamina benefits of ole Sexy T. Want better stamina with clubs? Put perk points into Pummel Pete and keep from getting winded too soon.

Flurry of Blows has been moved into each Attribute as a new perk.
- Perception: Quick and Perceptive – Increases the attack speed of spears
- Strength: Big and Fast – Increases the attack speed of clubs and sledges
- Fortitude: Lightning Hands – Increases the attack speed of fists and fist weapons
- Agility: Whirlwind – Increases the attack speed of knives
- Intellect: Calculated Attack – Increases the attack speed of batons

Physician perk has gained the ability to treat sprains and give more XP when using healing items. Dismemberment gets a boost with batons on level 4 while level 5 has a chance to instantly kill the target with a stun baton.

Master Chef allows players to cook faster with each level.
Lock Picking moved to Intellect

Grease Monkey grants the ability to use fewer repair kits when repairing vehicles
- Zombies and animals are now killed nearly instantly when hit by a vehicle, but the vehicle takes more damage than previous versions.
- Vehicles also take more damage when hitting objects or taking hard landings.

Perk Book Reworks

Spear Hunter Vol 3 changed from Steel Spear Unlock to Bleeding Damage
- Spears have a 25% chance to cause bleeding damage.
Spear Hunter Vol 4 changed from Strong Arm to Kill Move
- Power attacks do 50% more damage to downed targets.
Spear Hunter Vol 6 changed from Punctured Lung to Penetrating Shaft
- Power attacks now penetrate and damage multiple enemies.
Spear Hunter Complete
- Primal Kill: Kills with spears refill your stamina.
Automatic Weapons Vol 7 changed from M60 Unlock to Hip Fire
- Aiming from the hip with greater accuracy can save your ass in close quarters situations.
Batter Up Vol 2 changed from Gear to Stealing Bases
- Sprinting with a club drawn in combat uses 20% less stamina.
Batter Up Vol 6 changed from Bat Unlock to Foul Balls
- Power attacks with clubs have a 20% chance to ragdoll enemies.
The Great Heist Vol 3 changed from Timed Charges Unlock to Gold Rush
- Find 10% more dukes and old cash
The Great Heist Complete
- Find 20% more lockpicks in loot
Art of Mining Vol 7 changed from Mining Helmet Unlock to Damage
- Mining tools do 10% more block damage.

Perception and Spear Overhaul

It is mind blowing how powerful Rifles are now…literally. Pop zombie heads with ease with a boost to head shots when using the pipe, hunting, lever action, and sniper rifles.

The spear has gotten a rework. After much consideration, we decided to make it work like other weapons and exchanged the throw for a power attack. This makes the spear a much better sneak attack weapon and players do not have to worry about losing their fully modded spear when thrown. With the new door damage, spears are the best melee weapons for poking through the holes into pesky zombie heads.

Recipe Tracker

Having trouble remembering that recipe? Well, in Alpha 21, players can track recipes while out collecting resources. Items are tracked in a list shown in the upper right hand side of the screen. When the correct quantities are collected, the items will be highlighted in green. When all items are collected, a tool belt message will appear letting you know the item can be crafted.

Crafting Quality Selection

It’s likely that you’ve encountered a common problem: after gathering the necessary materials and components to craft your tool or weapon, you’ve invested additional points into the relevant skill, only to discover that the newly unlocked quality requires more materials than you currently possess. However, this predicament is no longer a concern, as you now have the ability to choose the desired quality of the crafted item, granting you control over the amount of materials invested.

Loot Balancing

Considerable attention has been devoted to achieving balance in various aspects of the game. This includes fine-tuning the availability of food and water, ensuring quest rewards are appropriately balanced, refining trader inventories to offer a fair selection of items, and the distribution of crafting skill magazines.

Starter Quest

The introductory quest has undergone simplification to provide a step-by-step breakdown of the initial stages of the game. Through user-friendly instructions and onscreen assistance, both novice players and seasoned veterans will be effortlessly guided to swiftly accomplish the initial milestones of their gaming experience.

HUD-less Mode

For those looking for a more immersive gameplay, players can now hide the HUD by pressing F7 one time. This mode will now allow players to remove the HUD, but still be able to interact with doors, loot containers, vehicles, and more. Pressing F7 again will change to “picture” mode that hides ALL HUD elements. Pressing F7 a third time will go back to default.

Spawn Near Backpack

In this latest update, an exciting new feature has been introduced for respawning after death. With an active bedroll, players now have the choice to respawn in close proximity to the location where their backpack is found. This convenient option enables players to swiftly retrieve their lost loot without the need to place a new bedroll, as the primary purpose of bedrolls was not originally intended for this particular function.

Vehicle Damage

Vehicle collisions take more damage, but also cause more damage, so repair kits are more relevant to game play.
Repair kits repair a fixed amount of damage instead of all vehicle damage
New blood splatter when hitting entities
Improved ragdoll hits and can cause dismemberment on hit entities
Additional spark effects when hitting blocks
Improved block collision damage calculations

Wandering Hordes

To promote engagement and encourage players to confront wandering hordes, we have implemented an increase in the chances of loot bags dropping from these encounters. This adjustment aims to incentivize players to actively engage with wandering hordes instead of allowing them to pass by without engagement. Furthermore, an additional improvement ensures that wandering hordes will no longer occur just before the commencement of your blood moon event, providing a more balanced and predictable gameplay experience.

Twitch Extension

We’ve added a new Twitch extension to allow viewers to interact with the streamer without cluttering up the chat. This allowed for the addition of more advanced actions that cost Bits. We’ve also added Presets to customize your integration experience. Custom Events have also been added for Twitch events such as Subs, Gifting Subs, Raids, Hype Trains, and Channel Point Redeems.

Performance & Optimizations

Unity version update
Window block optimizations
- All Windows have been converted to shapes which are more performant.
- Full windows downgrade to broken.
- Broken and Empty windows upgrade to Full.
- Only Full windows can upgrade material.
Improved prop LOD transition values by adding LOD categories so similar props cross fade at the same distances. They also cull at more relevant distances which improves performance.
Trees (adjustments to meshes and settings for better performance)
AI can handle more zombies by throttling their activity based on distance to player
AI pathing can handle many more paths per second
Less memory use
A variety of other small performance optimizations

Networking Improvements

Greatly reduced network traffic
Entities have variable update rate based on distance

There have been a number of improvements and optimizations made for a smoother multiplayer experience. Character animations and ragdolls now sync smoothly while behind the scenes many optimizations have been made to create a more in-sync experience while also greatly reducing the overall network traffic while playing. This includes a new prioritization system that can increase the rate of server updates for specific entities based on their proximity to players.

Server Administration and Multiplayer

WebDashboard

The old Web control panel for the server has been removed in favor of a new Web Dashboard. This is the first step of bringing over what has previously been known as Allocs Server Fixes, providing Web based APIs for interacting with the server as well as a browser interface to those features. Compared to the old mod this interface currently lacks all of the APIs that provide information on players.

This new Web Dashboard is currently provided as a mod shipped with the dedicated server version in order to be able to speed up iteration times independently of the actual game releases when improvements are made or fixes integrated.

If you were previously using the control panel to automate server tasks you will need to switch over to the new API system:

Normally you define API tokens in the serveradmin.xml or via the ‘webtokens’ command, but you can also define one API token on the command line with the ‘-webapitokenname=x’ and ‘-webapitokensecret=y’ arguments which will define a single token with permission level 0
The API endpoint to issue commands is ‘/api/command’. The token name and secret need to be passed as HTTP headers ‘X-SDTD-API-TOKENNAME’ and ‘X-SDTD-API-SECRET’. The request needs to use the POST method and contain a JSON body consisting of ‘{“command”: “command to execute”}’

There are new config options related to the dashboard:

‘WebDashboardEnabled’ toggles the whole system on or off
‘WebDashboardPort’ specifies the TCP port to run the interface on
‘WebDashboardUrl’ should contain the full URL that points to the dashboard, e.g. to a reverse proxy forwarding to the internal dashboard, like ‘https://proxydomain:8000/’. If the server can be reached with its public IP directly this value can be left empty
‘EnableMapRendering’ decides whether the game renders the map tiles to corresponding images that can be seen on the Web Dashboard or used with other tools to get a full view of the discovered game map.

Mumble Positional Audio

Alpha 21 brings support for Mumble’s Positional Audio feature. This means once it is enabled in the game audio settings and in your Mumble client you can play with your friends and hear in which direction they are from your view and get to hear them louder or quieter depending on their distance. Detailed setup instructions can be found on this Wiki page.

The Release Notes are too long for Steam, please continue reading here.