Project Zomboid Build 42 – We’ve Lived To See The Release

Imagine: this is reality. We can spend the New Year holidays playing Project Zomboid Build 42. The only thing that could be better is the release of GTA 6 and the cancellation of the nasty Anti-cheat system in Helldivers 2 (oh, dreams). You will ask skeptically: “When will Project Zomboid Build 42 be released?” Here’s what I’ll tell you. The exact release date of Project Zomboid build 42 is not yet known: fans are only making assumptions.

It is possible to predict that we will see the new build very soon, and here’s why. On December 17, 2024, the beta version of Project Zomboid build 42 was released! Steam announced this. You heard right. Now you can install the Project Zomboid build 42 update in the game itself.

How to do this?

1. Go to your library in Steam.
2. Find Project Zomboid in it.
3. Right-click on the game.
4. Find “Properties” and click on it.
5. After that, select the “Betas” tab.
6. In the drop-down menu, find the “Unstable” branch.
7. Done, you are perfect and ready to destroy zombies.

I think it’s obvious that Unstable is an unfinished beta version, which has bugs and system errors. For such a version, this is forgivable. The Indie Stone released the Unstable project Zomboid Build 42 so that we, the players, could test the game and point out significant errors to the developers. Although build 42 has not yet been fully released, the unstable version is a real gift for fans. By the way, players have already discovered several errors, including, for example, animals passing through closed gates; players cannot disassemble moving objects and take resources, and so on.

Errors and bugs are normal for a beta version, so let’s not be so critical of Unstable project Zomboid build 42. Here’s what a Reddit user writes about it: “Zomboid is generally stable, even in unstable. The biggest issue is likely to be save games breaking at some point, forcing a restart. If you’re new, you probably won’t last long enough on one character for that to even matter much.

If you’re looking to play with friends, unstable has multiplayer disabled, for now”.

When playing Unstable project Zomboid build 42, you need to be prepared for the fact that the mods you installed in build 41 will not be compatible. This is the price you pay for the update…

The game has a sufficient number of innovations that cannot but please. Let’s study together what the developers decided to please us before Christmas.

1. Maps and locations

Expanded maps, new cities, and locations. Oh yes, they give us more space! In build 42, the developers pleased us with a new map. The city of Echo Creek and 2 new cities appeared: Irvington in the southwest and Brenberg in the northwest. Everything looks as incredible and beautiful as possible. The only thing is that it is still unknown when Louisville will be added. The new cities are full of entertainment, so be sure to explore them: you will not be disappointed!

In the south, under the March ridge, there is even a huge lake where you can fish.

Speaking of locations on the map, basements, and even high-rise buildings appeared here. The appearance of basements on the map is quite random, so there is a chance to find them in any house you enter.

2. New Lighting

The light in the game has been given a second life. Now there are dark places in the house where you can’t see anything. This forces you to use an external light source – a flashlight. A new lighting system has been added to create the effect of natural ambient light reflecting off the walls and penetrating through the rooms.

The light in the game has been given a second life. Now there are dark places in the house where you can’t see anything. This forces you to use an external light source – a flashlight. A new lighting system has been added to create the effect of natural ambient light reflecting off the walls and penetrating through the rooms.

3. Animal husbandry

You can build a pen in which the animals should be comfortable. For this, there must be a large enough internal space for them. This can be a barn and feeders. You have the opportunity to put troughs and fill them with grass, which can be cut with a scythe. You can not only feed pets – you can pet them! For example, sheep. How cute! You have at your disposal such animals as cows, pigs, chickens, rabbits, deer, and sheep. They provide you with wool, milk, meat, and leather. Adding animals to Project Zomboid Build 42 is a significant update.

4. Wild Animals

You can use the tracking skill to find deer. However, you can also find them randomly in the wild, which is a nice bonus. Butcher the carcasses, collect resources, and get a whole new level of survival.

Wild animals can be tracked by paw prints and droppings using the new hunting system.

5. Expanded lore

You can now read newspapers, which is pretty cool.

When searching through houses, you can find job applications, family photos, unpaid parking tickets, and other items that add a lot of grounding to the world. There are new radio and TV shows and channels. All of these elements add a true post-apocalyptic feel to the game.

6. Farming changes

Instead of the usual potatoes and cabbage, there are a huge number of different crops, such as corn, peas, garlic, barley, flax, hemp (industrial), hops, rye, sugar beets, sunflowers, tobacco, hot peppers and many herbs, such as rosemary. Now you can preserve food. You work in the same way: dig a furrow, plant, and water the seeds. Now you can collect wheat, put it in a feeder, and feed your farm animals.

7. Character voices

Now your character can not only speak — he screams when he is tormented by zombies. This small detail adds even more immersion to the game. You cannot only choose a voice for the character but even adjust the pitch of the voice. Now you have 4 male and 4 female voices available.

8. New items

Of course, where would we be without it? There are new fanny packs, as well as new weapons and tools, which should go without saying given the crafting overhaul and new skills like fillet knives and bone weapons. As for containers, there are items like a bedsheet sling bag. Dozens of new clothing items have been added, including a SWAT uniform and a football uniform, as well as various containers and tents, and sleeping bags that can be packed away.

9. New Seated Animation

Now you can sit not only on the floor but also on beds and chairs. All this is possible thanks to the new 3D depth buffer.

10. Corpse Dragging

Now you can break windows and drag corpses. Yeah, that’s cool. And it’s also really fun to drag corpses around :) A word of advice: don’t kill zombies near your house unless you want to spend hours dragging them miles away. Corpse disease is brutal in build 42, now only one zombie can kill you, so scare off the living dead first, then kill them.

So, what do we see? Project Zomboid build 42 is beautiful even in its unfinished version. The appearance of new crafts, items, and animals, the addition of maps and locations… All this diversified the game and made it even more interesting. Now the post-apocalyptic world feels better and more alive. I described the most important updates to the game. I wonder what the finalized version of Project Zomboid build 42 will look like and when will it be released. We are waiting impatiently. Bye, dear friend, until next time!