Project Zomboid - Spiffo's Roundup

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The latest update for Project Zomboid details current development progress on things like improved animations and shaders.

Spiffo's Roundup #1

8 Feb @ 8:04am - nasKo
Hey all, here's a round-up of recent Zomboid dev. To start with a quick video compilation of stuff the team has been wiring up into our friends at TEA's animation systems.



Please note that there are still numerous bugs and issues as long as all our combined arms, and it's hard to get a sustained video without issues and glitches popping up, so this vid is fairly carefully curated - but it does give you an idea of the where we are. (Likewise, if you see something that looks wrong or glitchy, or think 'hmm, there should be more variation anims in that...', then we're probably already on it).

Essentially, TIS coders are currently implementing the game code-side, tying in the new animation system to all the game systems. RJ, for example, has been handling the combat system, tying up all the weapon swing, zombie reactions and various other related anims, and the system is getting close to the quality of the earlier videos of animations you've seen, though now tied 100% into the PZ combat, character and simulation systems.

Connall and Turbo, meanwhile, have been concentrating on non-combat related animations, such as reading, chopping wood, painting, eating, crafting, and the countless other in-game actions characters can do in-game that were previously performed like a stock-still robot with a progress bar.

EP has been doing his usual precision striking all across the code base, wiring up the character creation system, connecting model clothing to inventory items in the world, and fixing issues and integrating the codebase across the board.

In the mean-time TEA are optimizing and improving the AnimZed toolset with our requests the more we use it, and alongside general animation requests and polish Martin is experimenting with the gore potential of the system with visible guts hanging out of the front of zombies and such.

Here's another vid from Zac from a two weeks ago: a walk through downtown West Point to test some of the latest optimization work, and the improved shaders that remove a lot of the bleached-out-ness from proceedings. At the moment Zac is also, still, looking into some further threading optimization as, bizarrely, better machines were having some stutters



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Click to expand...
More information.
 
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Starting to think this game will never be content complete. It's been over eight years.
 
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Feels like more than 8 years since i bought it. There's too little going on in it.. it's just about surviving. If there was quests and NPC's, perhaps other survivors that are scavenging and could potentially be enemies (or join you) then it could be fun.

Graphics should be the least of their concern. Make an involving and fun game, then tweak graphics.
 
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What exactly does the base building part of the game offer? I know you can grow food but you probably have to go on scavenging runs every now and then to restock. So you die of old age or survive until the zombie waves become too much? The early scavenging runs just seem like a bore.
 
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Pretty much the whole point of the game is to survive as long as you can.
 
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It was pretty cool they gave you the freedom to smother your wife with a pillow at the beginning, though. I played this pretty early in development, but that was the only tough choice, which zombie stories are so good at presenting, that I recall in the game. If they've added a bunch more stuff like that, it could be good. Seems like a long time ago I played it, longer than 8 years.
 
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Yeah that's too bad. Was hoping form sth like Omega man ending where you have to get a signal and fight your way to human colonies. Or just anything other than waiting for death.
 
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kazga said:
What exactly does the base building part of the game offer? I know you can grow food but you probably have to go on scavenging runs every now and then to restock. So you die of old age or survive until the zombie waves become too much? The early scavenging runs just seem like a bore.
Click to expand...

Nothing like that.

It's been a while this product is no longer about survival, zombies are a non existing pressing threat.

Construction is central at the moment, to the point carpentry is the most spent on skill (by far)
Base building is too light a word, real estate developpment fits better as committing to huge projects like designing a whole city quarter (pub, garage, hotel, weapon store, library etc) is the main activity.

PCs do not die of old age, they are given up on once the few limiting factors (mostly construction material) are exhausted.
 
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I bought into this ages ago, and now regret doing so. I was gong to pick it up again when they added NPCs, which I believe still haven't been added. It seems like this game is the only real zombie, receiving the bare minimum updates to give it the appearance that it's still alive. I don't want to call it a scam, but I heavily doubt it was ever going to be completed.
 
Actually, one issue is that they kept adding many features, many layers. Their updates have been beefy. This came at the expense of addressing core gameplay issues, which they kept postponing by adding more and more content.

This update could be a pivotal point as they stated a long time ago (around update 32 or something) that this is what they needed to unlock progress and fundamental rework of basic gameplay.
 
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