Patch 0.4.9 is here! This update delivers the power of electricity! Let your magnificent homesteads be visible day and night with the all new electrical system. Hook up electrical appliances to any number of possible types of generator to benefit from some modern post-apocalyptic comforts. In addition to an array of lights, you can power showers for hot water and even build refrigerators to keep goods from decaying.

All new infected visuals and audio have arrived. The Stage One infected have received a audiovisual overhaul with striking new models (performance friendly too) and meaner sounds that suit them better.

New crafting possibilities have been added too. There are many more crafting options (including the entire electrical system), new food recipes with which you can make nutritious meals and a rework of some older items such as Meat and Spoilt Food.

Furthermore, this update comes packed with the latest sleugh of optimizations and performance improvements as well as bug fixes and quality of life improvements.

Developer Comment:
It would be advisable to start a fresh game as some mechanics, craftables and items may be bugged or not be available if using out of date game save files.

HOTFIX/UPDATE 0.4.9.1a

• NEW: World fences with barbed wire on can now cause 5HP every second.

• Updated: Tidied up tall water grass around rivers /swamps/lakes.
• Updated: drydock are with new way to climb on beached ships.
• Updated: Made some adjustments to ocean, to improve look of water foam and removed cutout mask.
• Updated: Watermelon no longer stack allowing for the item to have a variable weight.
• Updated: Consolidated bush meshes into 3 types instead of 12 types to reduce foliage draw.

• Optimisation: Removal of various legacy assets still being referenced in memory.
• Optimisation: Generated 6 levels of LODs and removed morph targets from EN Military models.
• Optimisation: Generated 6 levels of LODs and removed morph targets from Xile models.
• Optimisation: Removed morph targets from all character and outfit models that do not require them.

• Fixed: Eye shaders on Xile and Thanatos solders not rendering correctly.

Electrical System

• Added Craftable Wind Generator. Can be crafted at a workbench. Will consistently provide an output of power from the wind, but output will vary with the weather.
• Added Fuel Generators. Can be found in the world or bought from traders. Add fuel to the generator for up to 10 minutes of power. Provides a high consistent power output.
• Added Solar Generators. Can be crafted at a workbench with Solar Panels. Power output responds to weather and time of day. Has a higher average output than a wind generator when connected to a Battery Array.
• Added Hydro Generator. A very large wheel powered by water that will generate a lot of power.
• Added Multimeter. Equip this item to place cables between connectors, lights and generators.
• Added Electrical Cable. Used to connect electrical items. Electrical flow visualisation appears while Multimeter is equipped.
• Added Wall and Post Connectors. Used to hold power cables so that they can reach their destination.
• Added Electrical Switch. Can toggle power on and off beyond the switch.
• Added Electrical Time Switches. Controls the flow of power between specified times of day.
• Added craftable Refrigeration Storage Unit. This will completely stop the expiration of all items as long as it is powered.
• Added 3-Output connector. Splits remaining Watts into up to three outputs.
• Added Battery Array. Can receive inputs from up to four generators. If power input goes above 1200W, excess power is used to charge the Battery Array. If power goes below the threshold, power is drained allowing electrical systems to maintain their power.
• Added Biofuel Processor. Add Spoiled Food, Oil and Manure to the machine which will output cans of fuel.
• Added individual Solar Panels. Used for crafting Solar Generators. Can be either found in the world or brought from traders.
• Added Empty Paint Pots as lootable items (used to craft Biomass Processors).
• Added several types of electrical lights for illumination. Lights also have settings on them so that they will automatically turn on or off at certain times of day. Lights can be crafted at a workbench.
• Showers are now connected to the power system. The light on the heater upgrade will show if it is powered. Connect the shower to a power source to run a hot water pump. A working heater will clean the character and wash clothes faster.

Added

• Added seven new version 5.0 stage one infected models to replace old models. In addition to their new visual appearance, these models are much more performance friendly.
• Added a completely new set of sounds for infected, designed to fit the game better and be generally more intimidating.
• Added a new SFX when infected after standing up from being knocked down
• Added new ambient sound to Infected Nests
• Light fittings in houses are now lootable with a chance of electronics, light bulbs and copper cable.
• Lightbulbs and damaged light bulbs can now be looted and used as a crafting material.
• Added craftable pressure mine at workbench
• Added craftable bear/jaw traps at workbench
• Added highlighted text which appears when the dialog option relates to a quest.
• Added damage location indicator showing the direction from which damage came from (community request)
• Copper wire can now be crafted from copper ore in the Smithy Bench.
• Copper ore can now be harvested from rocks and has a small chance of being gathered from picking up stones.
• Added new item Sheet Metal. Can be crafted at the Smithy Bench.
• Added item Copper Wire. Can be crafted from 1x copper ore for 10x wire at the Smithy Bench.
• Added new Severed Deer Head item.
• Added Deer Head and Deer Antler trophies which can be crafted at a workbench and then placed on a wall.
• Added lootable shed areas around the map
• Added two new vehicle types placed at unknown locations: Crazy Van and The Bullet
• Added burnt wood to burning oil drums
• Added looping path around the back of the medical centre at Backwater Beacon
• Added a full new tutorial obstacle course behind the medical centre.
• Added Beehive area to Backwater Beacon safe-zone.
• Added Rock Salt item. This can be used in preserving food and can be found in kitchens and purchased at the traders
• Added Cook Station. This allows players to craft food recipes as well as meals and cured/preserved foods.
• Added new Sausage food. Made from raw meat and animal intestines
• Added five types of craftable meal that provide large amounts of regeneration stats and currently do not spoil (subject to change).
• Added Animal Intestines. Currently used to make sausages and are dropped by large animals
• Added meal "Meatloaf". Combine meat, vegetables and eggs to make an amazing meal that lasts.
• Added Lean Meat. Animals now have a chance of dropping a prime cut of meat called "Lean Meat". This can be used in recipes and cured for preservation at the cooking station.
• Added Pemmican. A food made from cured meat, tallow and berries that will never spoil and is very nutritious
• Added subtle trail effects to projectiles
• Added new impact sound when being hit by an infected
• Added text prompt to loot when the icon is showing that an NPC is lootable
• Added new placeable Disposal Unit. Items placed inside will be destroyed.

Optimisations

• Improved CPU cost of police tape
• Various shadow rendering improvements around Backwater Beacon Safe Zone
• Adjusted global shadow rendering range and properties for improved GPU performance
• Improved constant CPU costs relating to ammo selection wheel.
• Fixed security cameras having a consistent affect on CPU processing
• Fixed constant CPU costs relating to STRV watch.
• Improved CPU costs on animation graph with clean up of legacy functionality.
• Improved CPU cost of animation logic handling player's view mode
• Reduced Scene render target display on model viewer from 2k to 1k and stopped updating every frame.
• World texture optimisations, optimising 25+ Gb of textures
• Fixed possible initialisation issues for static NPCs which could affect performance.
• Improved optimisations for non-rendered NPCs.
• New infected models with better performance materials and meshes.
• Fixed optimisation issue affecting pickup items after loading a saved game
• Adjusted physics substepping properties for improved CPU performance
• Removed unnecessary cloth simulation of Meiline's hair
• Disabled trailer component on vehicles until further development causing a physics CPU cost.
• Heavily reduced the grass density.
• Fixed world tile near Backwater Beacon extending much further than it naturally would due to sprawling roads and fences.
• Disabled constant running cost of various world actors that do not require updating every frame.
• Reworked expiration system to be more intelligent and not have to update every second when not being viewed by the player
• Various small performance improvements for character's animation.

Updated

• Items dropped with an expiration timer will now continue to count down their expiration timer while on the floor.
• Items placed in standard storage with an expiration timer will continue to count down their timer while being stored.
• Containers now show expiration timers on items.
• Changing ammo type will now automatically prompt a reload of the weapon with that ammo type.
• Infected nests now only have a 25% chance of activating in Driftwood mode
• Anti-Infected lights now uses the new electrical system and require power
• Trees now sway in the wind dependent on the wind strength of the weather
• Reduced Ken’s dialogue for quest "Sack of Spuds" while we rework the starting quests for Driftwood Mode
• Improved the shaders on trees, reducing specular strength and subsurface scattering which often was overbearing
• Electrical items can now be found in toolboxes
• Pipes can now be dropped without being destroyed
• Removed "Description" text being on the placeable tent.
• Metal Bucket and Cooking Pot have been moved to the Smithing Bench.
• Dropped items now have the option to despawn after an hour after being dropped.
• Infected have taken over the police station.
• System put in place to update out of date crafting recipes on loaded save games with new and updated data.
• Admin/Cheat menu can now be rebound. Defaulted to "F1". Key binding file may need to be deleted and re-verified on steam.
• Cheat/Admin menu updated. Items can now be spawned to player inventory.
• Bee nests are no longer attached to trees; only found on buildings and cliffs.
• Icon titles updated for work benches to specify Chemical Bench, Metal Bench, etc.
• "Report Bugs" notification no longer keeps popping up.
• Adjusted ladders on tree platform hideouts.
• Sen's water pump now stops if the player dies/leaves the wider area.
• Dynamically spawning infected will now despawn if the player dies at Sen's water pump.
• Increased audibility of NPC gunshots over distance
• Weather audio can now be adjusted via the ambient sound volume slider
• FSR and DLSS are all disabled by default now.
• Adjusted shaders on world tarp mesh
• Reworked the east entrance to Backwater Beacon Safezone
• Foliage cover now gives a significantly better buff to stealth.
• Eggs now spoil.
• Mushroom varieties now spoil.
• All food now becomes Spoiled Food when it spoils.
• Ammo pricing has been increased significantly
• Inventory UI slot expiration timer position and size adjusted
• Removed Brass Casings and Projectiles from trader buy and sell list.
• Animal meat has now been updated with "Base Meat". All stats are the same but visuals have been updated.
• Lean meat can now be added to cooking facilities such as campfires, hobo stoves and camping stoves.
• Replaced old delipidated walls around the map with new optimised versions that fit the world better
• Infected types will now be completely randomised every time the game starts
• Reworked all hitbox collisions for infected.
• Updated centre of mass on all vehicles to improve handling
• Vehicles now have better grip on roads with hills
• Items which have a condition will now affect the weight of the item each time the item is used or updated.
• Updated positioning of looting icon on dead NPCs
• Updated position of race timer reset button at Steve’s Crazy Wheels. It is mounted on the wall inside the marshal’s hut.

Fixes

• Fixed the condition property of dropped items not saving (meaning Jerry Cans are no longer refuelled after saving and loading)
• Fixed origin location for projectiles being too high on NPCs
• Fixed changing weapon with the ammo selection wheel open causing the menu to get stuck on screen and semi-locking the game.
• Fixed issues preventing camera zoom without a weapon.
• Fixed issues where fish could spawn inside geometry or in each other's collision volumes
• Fixed issue with police tape physics
• Fixed an issue with Infected Nests reactivating directly after being destroyed
• Fixed issues with Infected Nests looking active with no Infected being spawned.
• Fixed issue with Infected Nests never activating
• Fixed Adrian being the only character able to craft the Widow Maker. All characters can now craft the weapon.
• Fixed various issues causing game crashes
• Fixed quests having a problem with the kill count not updating correctly after death or loading a saved game.
• Fixed killing any animal causing hunting quests to automatically complete.
• Fixed ladder at bayou research facility causing the character to get stuck in the ladder animation.
• Fixed skins not working on Sophia’s Foot Brawler outfit
• Fixed safes still spawning number puzzles on Lone Wolf start scenario
• Fixed not being able to cancel contract with Robert Neville for rental units. This will require a new game.
• Fixed wash stations at bunkers being able to be dismantled
• Fixed glowing trunks on some of the small trees
• Fixed not being able to harvest some medium trees
• Tentative fix for camera getting stuck when harvesting birds
• Fixed issue where weapons could have the wrong material assigned to them after switching weapons.
• Fixed crowbar still requiring level 5 scavenging
• Fixed not being able to loot evidence boxes in the police station.
• Fixed antibiotics having an expiration.
• Fixed crafting queue showing when crafting in inventory and opening a workbench.
• Fixed NPCs who spawn in George Berryman's Wanted quest constantly respawning even after the quest is completed.
• Fixed Infected spawned from Sen's generator persisting in the world even after leaving and returning.
• Fixed Infected at water pump no longer respawning on death, causing an infinite fight.
• Fixed not being able to pick up hobo stove.
• Fixed placeable beds opening sleep menu when selecting 'Pick Up' from their radial menu.
• Fixed icons getting stuck on screen after pickup up Composter.
• Fixed not being able to swim in Sen’s basement.
• Fixed taking noticeboard quests as well as an NPC quest breaking the system. We are looking into a way to be able to have multiple.
• Fixed issues causing landscape material not to rendering correctly
• Fixed issues where after loading a saved game, items could sometimes spawn as other items or change into other items.
• Fixed lack of audio attenuation on Xile bow SFX.
• Fixed erratic camera motion issue from recoil after changing weapons
• Fixed occasional issue where NPCs such as infected could land a melee hit from long-range.
• Fixed blood particle effects not being visible on shot NPCs.
• Fixed display tutorials not displaying when triggered from the player guide in the inventory
• Fixed not getting gas bottle back when picking up camping/gas stove
• Fixed collision issues on Medical Centre building.
• Fixed various types of fish never spoiling.
• Fixed option to take off Wash Station upgrades only working once without removing the entire Wash Station.
• Fixed some craftable items appearing as white squares in the workbench.
• Fixed cooked Perch and Pike have 0s timers and disappearing instantly (these are still currently not available during gameplay).
• Fixed Barbwire Baseball Bat not being repairable.
• Fixed issues interacting with Water Pump outside Sen's house if the player has multiple full Jerry Cans.
• Fixed various small human NPC combat behaviour issues result in slow transitions between combat states.
• Fixed bear often immediately disengaging from combat after getting in striking distance of their target
• Fixed issue causing human NPCs to freeze up in combat situations and not move to engage their target
• Fixed icons on NPCs getting stuck on takedown prompt instead of showing loot prompt
• Fixed issue where fishing rod in-hand position could become offset
• Fixed using [Alt] to freelook while fishing causing undesirable rotation on the character
• Fixed issue where fishing in many locations would never yield any fish