Hello everyone! We're very excited to introduce the long-awaited v3.3 patch and to announce our plans to migrate Zombie Panic! Source to the latest 'TF2 SDK' update-branch!
What does this mean?
Back in February, Valve released a massive update to the Source SDK which adds Team Fortress 2's client and server game code, making it possible for modders to change or rewrite TF2 however they like. This update brought a lot of cool new features, changes, and improvements to all of Valve's multiplayer Source engine titles, such as 64-bit support, Steam Networking (Peer-to-Peer) and many more.
Our programmers are currently in the process of bringing all of those features into ZPS and they will arrive in future updates when they are ready. We'll have a detailed dev blog explaining each one of those new features, what we've been working on, and new upcoming content in the near future!
What's new?
Today's update includes the first phase of our TF2 SDK migration plan, focused on specific changes and improvements to the game that don't change anything within the game engine for a faster release and to fix any technical bugs from the initial port. We'll highlight and discuss the most important ones included in this patch, followed by a full changelog below!
Networking Optimizations
The first changes from the TF2 SDK implemented in this patch are improvements to networking precision and lots of client-side prediction fixes, resulting in less hit registration errors and better game-feel. Players with high ping latency might notice some improvements in this aspect. Please let us know in our forums of any issues you find when playing!
Steam Workshop Improvements
We've made significant changes to our Workshop mounting to support VPKs that should result in better game performance and reduced loading times. Players with lots of subscribed items will notice this change clearly when launching their game. We highly recommend to all Workshop authors to pack your items into a VPK file for this change to take action!
We also want to mention that the "custom" folder will no longer be used. From now on, we require you to move any custom content you have there to the "addons" folder instead, since it's not very efficient to have two mount points that do the same job. Packing your own custom content into a VPK also helps!
More detailed info about this in the readme.txt file in your 'addons' folder! Or check guide below!
Game Settings Changes
There is a 'new' setting in "Video -> Advanced" called "Material queue mode" (aka mat_queue_mode) for you to change with an extra description of what it does. This option was always forced to "1" in the past due to reasons that aren't relevant anymore, and we want to let you know that you can now manually toggle this option!
We unfortunately had to remove both "Multicore rendering" and "Windows Aero" options from the advanced settings; the first was causing users to get stuck in a listen server, and the second was not really applying the change anyway. You can still use the host_thread_mode CVAR in the console for multicore rendering, and you can add the command-line argument "-nod3d9ex" in your game's launch options to disable Windows Aero extensions. Keep in mind we do not recommend messing with these options as they might threaten game stability and thus your gameplay experience.
Gameplay Tweaks
According to player feedback and past community surveys, players have been asking for changes to the player movement speeds and stamina/fatigue regen. We wish to let you know that we've made some improvements in this regard that should make the Survivors less exhausting with walk/duck mode being slightly faster and recovering stamina much better than before.
We also took this opportunity to increase the head damage multiplier on Pistols, Revolver and Rifles to feel more rewarding as we agreed it was really underwhelming (base dmg had to be tweaked as a trade).
Patch Notes
Addons system & Steam Workshop
Added support for VPK files.
Removed "custom" folder mount point.
Achievements
Steam achievements can now be earned through custom maps.
Angelscript
Fixed various inconsistent order of calls with Source I/O (now AngelScript is always first, Source I/O is second).
Audio
Upgraded FMOD to 2.03.09 version.
Client
Added "viewmodel_offset" CVARs.
Changed raw input mouse default value to enabled (TF2 SDK update).
Changed unload weapon input bit value to HL2's zoom (community bots might require an update if said bit is used).
Renamed the "disable spray" CVAR from "cl_playerspraydisable" to "cl_spraydisable" (consistency with other Source titles).
Upgraded Discord RPC to the latest maintenance version.
Debugging bots
Added "bot_zps_add_lobby" command.
Fixed "bot_zps_add_spectator" adding a Zombie bot instead of a Spectator one.
Entities
Backported "non-solid" spawnflag for rotating buttons (TF2 SDK update).
Backported "point_worldtext" entity (TF2 SDK update).
Fixed buttons "OnDamage" output passing the activator rather than the attacker.
Removed unused HL2:DM spawn entities (info_player_combine and info_player_rebel).
Renamed the player entity from "zpplayer" to "player" (consistency with other Source titles).
Game rules
Reduced Hardcore mode timer cap from 8 minutes to 5 minutes (requires server to have "sv_zps_hardcore_roundtime_clamp" set to 1)
Removed forced infection chat messages.
General
Backported some misc fixes and improvements from the TF2 SDK update.
Fixed default max players being set to only 2 instead of 24 slots.
Fixed players being able to kick server bots without admin rights.
Fixed a very minor memory leak on Key/Value pairs.
Renamed the "specmode_next", "specmode_prev", "specmode_switch" and "specmode_target" commands to "spec_next", "spec_prev", "spec_mode" and "spec_target" respectively (consistency with other Source titles)
Removed "mat_queue_mode" being forced to value 1.
Updated contributors list.
Various code optimizations and security fixes.
Localization
Added Brazilian (Portuguese) translations.
Updated French translations.
Updated German translations. (Thanks XeroX)
Updated Russian translations. (Thanks Reborn and Orphanage)
Removed several unused strings.
Maps
Added 'jack o' lantern' and fixed minor issues with zombie spawns LoS in Haunted.
Fixed missing zombie spawns having LoS (PVS spawn) not enabled in Sapidcerebrum.
Fixed "volume > 255" console spam due to wrong soundscape values on Nightmare.
Moved the police car AK spawn to the generator room as a random_rifle on Harvest.
Updated Aquatica, Clubzombo and OBJ Keretti.
Cubemap fixes and miscellaneous.
Player
Updated Survivor's fatigue, recharge stamina and duck/walk mode values.
Decreased fatigue limit to 46
Increased ducking speed to 126
Increased walk mode speed to 144
Increased fatigue recharge rate to 0.03
Increased fatigue (walk) recharge rate to 0.015
UI
Added setting to control Steam overlay's position.
Added hints to advanced game video settings when hovering over them.
Added "Material queue mode" advanced video setting (mat_queue_mode).
Fixed broken teammate inventory HUD.
Fixed "https://" protocol in text not being detected as links.
Removed "about community servers" and "welcome (back) to ZPS" dialogs.
Removed several leftover unused HL2 HUD elements.
Removed video tutorials in the menu (the "Manual" button will now open the official Steam guide in the Steam overlay web browser if possible)
Removed "DirectX" labels from advanced video settings as we don't support older DirectX levels.
Removed "Multicore rendering" from advanced video settings.
Removed "Windows Aero" extensions from advanced video settings.
Weapons
Updated all Pistols and MP5 (9mm) values.
Decreased base damage to 20
Increased head damage multiplier to 2.0
Set body damage multiplier to 1.0 by default.
Updated all Rifles values.
Increased AK47's base damage to 27 and M4's base damage to 23.
Tweaked head damage multiplier to 2.0
Set body damage multiplier to 1.0 by default.
Updated Revolver values.
Increased head damage multiplier to 3.0
Set body damage multiplier to 1.0 by default. (80 base dmg)
Updated Broom melee.
Decreased head damage multiplier to 1.5
Decreased base damage to 35
Updated fists values.
Decreased head damage multiplier to 1.5
Set body damage multiplier to 1.0 by default (25 base dmg)
Restored viewmodel recoil animations (if they are present, this is a visual change that does not impact gameplay).
Developers Note/TL;DR
The 'TF2 SDK' release is a great opportunity to bring ZPS to the latest (free for use) Source engine branch that includes lots of new features (64 bits, Steam Networking etc...) that the community could benefit. However, most of them requires heavy changes to its engine, resulting extensive work and dedication from our programmers. Therefore, we decided to release this patch with everything available from the TF2 SDK update that doesn't change anything within game's engine, including lots of quality of life fixes, game balance changes (per community request) and lots of miscellaneous.
We'll being the pre-production of ZPS v4.0 in the near future to test the waters of those new features, see if they can be implemented or not, take this chance to rework technical areas of our game and then have a playable build for testing. Everything is a working in progress and subjected to change. We'll publish a devblog later on discussing all the possibilities of the port, our future plans for the franchise and any upcoming content (official and from community contributors).
Until then, please enjoy this Halloween update and let us know what you think by discussing below, make sure to report any bugs or issues you find in our forums! 🎃
The Zombie Panic! Team