Shortly before the end of 2021, Project Zomboid experienced a strong comeback: Build 41 boosted the number of players and brought the survival game to the screen for many new eyes. While the developers of The Indie Stone are very happy about the addition, they are already working on the next big feature: NPCs.
We’ll tell you in a separate news what everything changed with Build 41 and why it had such an extremely positive effect on the number of players:
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So far, apart from any multiplayer colleagues, you are quite alone in the game world of Project Zomboid. That’s set to change in the future, like Chris Simpson from The Indie Stone all in one Interview with NME betrays. However, as usual, the update will be some time in coming.
NPCs and animals – this is how it continues with Project Zomboid
Build 41, says Simpson, was an important step in realizing Project Zomboid’s own vision. The team wants to build on this update in the future and the plans are already in place.
The next big update after build 41 will be NPCs. Simpson confirms this in an interview:
Though there will be minor builds in between, the next big thing we’re working towards and about in the New Year [2022] will speak are NPCs.
Chris Simpson via NME
NPCs have long been a hotly debated topic among gamers, but they are also a difficult addition for developers. The team does not currently know what must be included in such an update, but it will very likely result in several build releases. The team couldn’t possibly do everything in one go.
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Before the NPC plan, the team actually intended to integrate wild animals. However, such an update would have already revealed certain AI behaviors that were intended for the larger NPC update in advance. For this reason, the team turned around. Of course, animals are still on the agenda.
In addition, the developers are planning to expand the tech treeto provide more variety and variety in the endgame. However, it should not mean that you are in the middle of the zombie apocalypse stomping entire factories from scratch.
It might seem a bit strange for our game to have some sort of long-term survival, but I think the endgame needs it so that players have something to build and unlock new achievements.
Chris Simpson via NME
But you shouldn’t look forward to the NPCs and other updates too early, because the update cycle at Project Zomboid is known to be quite leisurely. The developers take great care to do this and have major updates tested beforehand as part of special beta builds.
On the way to the release
NPCs, wild animals and more crafting: These are the three big topics that the team at The Indie Stone would like to implement at least until the release of Project Zomboid. Although Project Zomboid has been in Early Access since 2013, version 1.0 is not yet within reach.
According to Simpson, there is a simple reason for this: Project Zomboid is simply not as far as the developers would like it to be. Only when they arrive at this particular point will the switch to the full version take place – and possibly also a change of scenery for the team. Version 1.0 be the day we’re done
, so Simpson.
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How it continues after that remains open. Maybe there will be DLC, maybe we’ll get another team or port it to consoles
, but for many team members, the final release of Project Zomboid will be over for the time being.
