🧟 Rise of the Zeds - Update v0.5.2

We have an exciting update to push! This one focuses heavily on zombie behavior, combat feel, AI interactions, and performance improvements. Lots of small fixes add up to a big step forward in how the world feels when you’re out there surviving. We are still working out a few kinks and will keep improving based on user feedback, so thank you survivors for always reporting.

We’re still a small part-time team, but your support keeps us going. We’ve also got some really exciting updates coming over the holidays, so stay tuned!

🌎 World & Spawning

• Added 300+ new zombie spawns across the map, roads, and empty areas. The world now feels more alive… or, well… “un-alive.”

  

• Updated JSON POI Manager spawn settings across MainLevel and DemoLand.

  

• Increased several AI spawner iteration speeds to make spawning more responsive.

⚔️ AI Combat & Behavior Improvements

MoreInteractions

Everyone fights everyone now:

• Scavs attack zeds & animals

• Animals attack zeds & scavs

• Zeds attack scavs & animals

Basically, the ecosystem is a whole lot angrier - and more fun to watch!!

Louder Zeds

• AI now broadcasts attack sounds, so nearby AI will react even if they’re not facing the action.

• Fixed issues where zombies would attack but not look at their target correctly.

• Fixed bugs causing scavs/zeds to ignore each other during investigation state or fail to deal damage.

Melee Adjustments

• Reduced melee attack delay, making hits feel much snappier.

• Increased how fast zombies turn to face you during attacks.

• Cleaned up melee logic so zombies only stop movement for the proper duration of the animation.

• Removed a buggy bite animation that caused attack hitches. (RIP weird bite montage - you will not be missed.)

  

🧟 Zombie Tweaks

• Added new systems to prevent zombies from sliding or moving while in spawn or hit reactions.

• Tweaked attack montage play rates to feel less sluggish.

• Redesigned zombie animation blending so upper-body attacks play cleanly while the legs still chase you. (less “ice-skating zeds” around the map.)

• Fixed zombies attacking next to a scav but not facing them properly, causing missed hits.

• Added checks so zombies can’t break out of disabled movement while climbing out of the ground.

• Increased the climb-out-of-ground animation speed and tightened timing.

• Added footstep cues for zombies so they sound more grounded and alive (or… undead).

Sneak Attack Bonus

• If you melee a zombie before it’s aggro’d, it now takes 3x damage. Time to channel your inner post-apocalyptic ninja.

🔧 Performance & Optimization

• Added cull distances to AI.

• Added LODs to most zombie and AI meshes and created a mesh reduction profile. (We’ll likely generate LODs for all unique meshes soon.) Steam post image

• Disabled fixed mesh bounds on base zombie models to fix camera edge culling.

• Improved pawn sensing so alert cues play correctly.

• Added safety checks to prevent null reference crashes in multiple systems.

🐞 Bug Fixes

• Fixed AI getting stuck in MoveToTarget state with movement disabled.

• Fixed rare null pointer in AI multicast montage system.

• Fixed AI bug where enemies played the “sense” alert every time they heard you.

• Fixed null pointer in Async Spawner Func Lib.

• Known visual bug: ranged AI may not aim guns correctly when too close and meleeing, but their shots still register.

🛠 Internal C++ Plugin Updates

Various adjustments and backend improvements to our internal AI plugin to support the new systems.

Thank You, Survivors

As always- thank you for all the support, bug reports, and patience. ZSGO is built by a tiny part-time team, and updates like this happen because you keep pushing us forward.

We have some awesome new features already in progress (more news soon 👀), and we can’t wait to share what’s next.

Stay alive out there, - The ZSGO Team 🧟‍♂️