Build 42 vs Build 41 — Complete Change List for 42.21 & 42.22

Build 42 "Expanded Crafting and Balance" ran as an unstable branch from December 17, 2024 and went stable as 42.20.0 on July 29, 2026 — followed by four successive stable hotfixes advancing to 42.20.4, then the Build 42.21 update ("Re-population of the Dead"), which reached the Unstable branch on September 23, 2026 and became the default Stable build on September 28, 2026. The next update, 42.22, entered the new Pre-Release branch on October 27, 2026 — the branch that replaced Unstable for early testing. This is the consolidated change list: what's new, renamed, rebalanced, or removed versus Build 41, organized by system and updated with post-launch hotfixes. Core facts come from PZwiki's Build 42 page, skill navboxes, and official The Indie Stone patch announcements. Checked 2026-10-30.

New skills: ten systems that didn't exist

B41 had ten skills; B42 has twenty. Verified skill list on 42.20:

New occupations follow: Blacksmith, Welder, Tailor, Rancher, Burger Flipper, and Construction Worker join the roster, and Build 42.16 ran a full occupation balance pass with further tweaks in 42.18 and 42.19.

Trait changes: added, renamed, removed

• New: Crafty (crafting XP; conflicts with Fast/Slow Learner), Mason, Inventive (recipe research), Artisan (pottery/glass), Tinkerer (+1 Maintenance), Target Shooter (+1 Aiming), Sewer, Whittler; Motion Sensitive was added mid-cycle (community-reported).
• Renamed: Wilderness Knowledge became Bushcrafter, absorbing the bow-drill fire-starting bonus that Outdoorsy lost.
• Removed (per the wiki's current markers): Lucky, Unlucky, Marksman, Patient, Brooding, Hypochondriac, Gift of the Gab, Hardened Drinker, Light Drinker.
• Rebalanced: Smoker landed at +3 (not B41's +4); Cat's Eyes and Wakeful cost more; First Aider and Iron Gut cost less; Desensitized now also grants discomfort immunity (community-reported).

Moodles: what moved on the status bar

Current moodle set adds Hyperthermia, Hypothermia, Windchill, Heavy load, Stressed, and Pain to the classic lineup. Angry and Hungover were removed; Fear, Morale, and Sanity are flagged as future work in the wiki's own navbox. Expect thermal management to matter more than it ever did in B41.

Crafting and forging: the core of the update

• Five new crafting systems: pottery, blacksmithing, stone working, brewing, and weapon crafting, each with its own workstations (furnaces, forges, anvils, kilns, grindstones, pottery wheels).
• Recipes now gate on knowledge: magazines and schematics, research from reference items, skill auto-learns, and workstation/surface requirements.
• Literature split into skill books vs recipe resources; VHS tapes expanded to Aiming, Animal Care, Blacksmithing, Electrical, First Aid, Knapping, Pottery, Tailoring, Welding (community-reported list).
• Weapon parts system: handles and heads track condition separately, blades track sharpness, and broken weapons serve as temporary options or spare parts.
• Fluid system: a global fluid registry, transfer between containers, mixed drinks and concoctions.
• A new cleaning system and double-click emergency actions arrived with the polish pass.

Animals, farming, and fishing overhauls

• Animals: first interactable animals — cows (three breeds), sheep (three breeds), chickens (two breeds), pigs, turkeys, plus wild deer, rabbits, raccoons, rats, and mice. Livestock zones, troughs, breeding genetics with dominant/recessive alleles, and Butchering as a dedicated skill.
• Farming: renamed Agriculture; 56 crops with planting seasons, bad months, curses, moon-phase health, and four diseases (see our farming guide). The disease "Devil's Water Fungi" was renamed aphids.
• Fishing: procedural fish schools reacting to noise, chum attraction, 21 new species in the data, tension minigame, and filleting moved to Butchering.
• Foraging feeds production chains: clay, flint, dogbane, limestone, fiber plants, and biome/weather-dependent finds.

Combat, health, and firearms (community-reported)

• Muscle strain limits sustained melee; heavy clothing causes discomfort tied to stress.
• Firearms: body-part damage matters more (headshots up, limb hits down); shotguns no longer grant aiming XP per pellet; jamming reduced with sandbox multipliers; .223 folded out, with the varmint-rifle side moving to 5.56 in 42.14.
• Health: pain fixes, fall-damage tuning, corpse sickness as a persistent threat — gas masks and respirators protect with draining filters; chamomile, honey, or mint hot drinks help flu recovery.

Map, zombies, and world

• Underground play: basements, bunkers, panic rooms, and taller buildings once the height limit was lifted.
• Knox Country expanded with three new towns plus borderless wilderness generation; automatic foraging zones and biomes.
• New challenge map "Many years later" for post-apocalypse crafting survival.
• Zombie population follows a generated heat map with a noise layer; fences bend and break; an option lets zombies open doors.

Loot, vehicles, and power

• Apocalypse individual loot moved 0.4 → 0.6 during unstable (42.10); loot follows place identity — police storage, ranches, themed rooms, work vehicles, safehouses, and survivor stories all carry progression now.
• Generator variants (premium, standard, loud cheap ValuTech, loudest old) with different noise and degradation; default radius 20 tiles and 3 vertical levels; fuel is a fluid — siphoning needs a hose, jerry cans hold 20 L, open containers evaporate.

42.20.0 stable patch — what changed on top of the unstable path

Build 42.20 shipped several mechanics that didn't exist in the unstable cycle and affect how you play from day one:

• "Extra Large" tree types. XL and XXL trees now generate in updated world-gen biomes. Cutting them down yields increased wood loot, and their roof-sized canopy can be hidden with right-click while driving or scouting ahead — handy before a supply run through dense forest.
• Trailer detachment. Trailers now detach when you turn too sharply or hit too much speed (see the vehicles guide for the practical warning).
• Challenge roster rotated. "Cabin in the Woods" left the rotation, replaced by "Top of the World" and "28 Minutes Later" (named "28 Seconds Later" in the announcement blog); "Winter is Coming" and "A Really CD DA" returned with corrected spawn coordinates, and respawn is now removed in "A Really CD DA".
• Sandbox ceiling raised. The "Zombie count before deletion" option's max jumped from 500 to 5,000 — population-heavy servers can spawn far more before hordes start being culled.
• Extinction rebalanced. WouldInfectionFactor went from 1.0 to 2.0 in Extinction mode — infected survivors turn twice as fast, so the mode plays noticeably harder.
• Butcher hook buff. Large animals now yield more meat cuts when using the butcher hook.
• UX additions. A disabled-by-default epilepsy warning screen on startup, repainted main-menu art (menu SFX temporarily off), and search boxes in the Discovered Recipes and Media UIs — discovered recipes sort to the top.

See the challenge modes guide for the current 42.20 roster and per-challenge tips.

42.20.1 through 42.20.4 stable hotfixes (August 2026)

Following the July 29 stable launch, four consecutive hotfixes rolled out across August 2026 to stabilize multiplayer, resolve memory issues, and tighten security. Saves remain compatible across all 42.20 minor versions:

42.20.1 (August 5, 2026) — multiplayer and memory:

• Server lag fixed for high-pop servers. Chunk-unloading performance was reworked; high-population server lag was drastically reduced.
• Vehicles no longer vanish for remaining players after another player disconnects.
• B41 worlds can no longer be hosted on B42 servers (corrupted legacy worlds are now rejected), and the missing-menu glitch when switching B41→B42 is fixed.
• Memory-leak crash fix — resolved memory leaks causing degradation and crashes over long sessions; improved memory reuse for world data.
• Mod tools gained native .json writing support.

42.20.2 (August 5, 2026) — modding and UI syntax:

• Mods must now write %% to display a % character (a temporary backwards-compatibility shim remains, but mod authors should update to avoid broken formatting in upcoming builds — see the mods guide).
• Fixed quick tips showing % as %%; added memory debug info to the FPS debug display.

42.20.3 (August 17, 2026) — 254-player servers & crash fixes:

• Server player limit raised to 254: dedicated server infrastructure was reworked to support massive populations (up to 254 concurrent players), alongside reserved administrator access slots when servers reach capacity.
• Loading Map hang resolved: fixed the game-breaking issue where players hung indefinitely on the "Loading Map" screen when joining multiplayer servers.
• World streaming optimization: addressed causes of black and gray box voids appearing when driving vehicles at high speeds or sprinting across cell borders.
• Lighting stability: fixed exceptions occurring during dynamic ambient lighting calculations.

42.20.4 (August 26, 2026) — security and Lua API changes:

• Security vulnerabilities fixed: removed loadstring and loadstream methods in the Lua sandbox to block remote execution exploits.
• Mod compatibility impact: mods using dynamic or obfuscated Lua execution (such as certain custom server anti-cheat scripts and older UI mods like CleanUI) threw errors until re-enabled in 42.21.

Build 42.21 ("Re-population of the Dead" — September 23, 2026)

On September 23, 2026, The Indie Stone released the first major post-launch incremental update to the Unstable branch on Steam. Designed as a community testing cycle before moving to Stable, 42.21 resolves top community pain points and rebalances several core survival routines:

Big Ticket Fixes

• Vanishing zombies bug resolved: Fixed the widespread issue where zombie hordes completely vanished after a player left and re-entered a game world chunk (in both single-player and multiplayer).
• Multiplayer zombie duplication fixed: Tackled zombie duplication glitches during desync and reconnect events in MP.
• XXL tree cutaway and transparency rework: Overhauled the XXL trees introduced in B42. They now cut away more cleanly when driving vehicles, no longer hide overhang houses or furniture, and feature adjusted transparency for improved navigation visibility.
• loadstring and loadstream re-enabled: Following further security investigation, the developer re-enabled loadstring and loadstream in the Lua sandbox, restoring compatibility for impacted modders and server administrators.

Balance & Crafting Tweaks

• Welder occupation fix: Characters picking the Welder occupation now properly start with Welding recipes, rather than mistakenly receiving Blacksmithing recipes.
• 86 new fluid containers for water purification: Greatly expanded the list of fluid vessels that can boil and purify tainted water in appropriate ovens and stoves.
• Washing machines clean medical gear: Powered washing machines can now wash dirty bandages, rags, and strips back to clean condition.
• Gradual shutoff cooling: On the day grid power cuts out, refrigerators and freezers now warm up gradually rather than instant spoiling.
• Bagged food refrigeration: Food stored inside bags inside a fridge/freezer now correctly receives cooling/freezing status.
• Explosives in basements: Explosives (pipe bombs, aerosol bombs) now detonate properly in basements and underground bunkers.
• Antibiotics packaging: Added a "pack in box" crafting recipe to consolidate antibiotic supplies.

Quality of Life & Engine

• Exercise re-arming: Characters now automatically re-equip their previously held weapons and items upon finishing exercise.
• Crop-safe pathfinding: Player auto-pathfinding actively avoids stepping on and trampling growing crops.
• Multiplayer driving at high ping: Resolved chunk voiding (road disappearing in front of moving cars), passenger desync/teleportation, and juddering when driving with 150+ ms latency.
• Z-level desync fixed: Improved vertical coordinate synchronization between server and client.
• In-game map corrections: Fixed inaccurate exploration fog and cartography tiles.
• Branch mismatch warning: Added a clear in-game warning notification when attempting to connect to a server running a different game version.

Multiplayer-specific details, server configuration, and troubleshooting live in the multiplayer guide, dedicated server guide, and error fixes guide.

42.21 goes Stable — September 28, 2026

The Indie Stone moved 42.21 from Unstable to Stable five days after the beta landed, with no further hotfix since: 42.21 is the default build every Steam player now has. The stable announcement repeated the four headline items — chunk-despawn and MP duplication fixes, the XXL tree cutaway rework, and loadstring/loadstream restored — and confirmed that the new release rhythm (beta test first, then Stable) is now standard procedure. If your game updated without you opting into anything, this is the patch you received.

Build 42.22 Pre-Release — October 27, 2026

On October 27, 2026 the first post-launch content update arrived — not on Unstable, but on the Pre-Release branch, which now replaces Unstable entirely (see the Pre-Release branch guide). 42.22 is a testing build: it is not on Stable yet, and saves carried onto it are not guaranteed to survive the final release. Two long-requested features headline it:

• Ladders work. Placed ladders across Knox Country are now usable with the default E interact key, or the right-click menu on the ladder tile. Zombies cannot climb ladders, so they finally work as a one-way vertical escape. Ladders are currently fixed in place on the map. Full walkthrough: ladders and crowbars guide.
• Crowbars force openings. With a crowbar equipped or carried, the right-click menu allows forcing jammed/locked windows (with a chance to break the window), locked wood and metal doors, locked fence gates, and garage doors. Security doors and jail cell doors cannot be forced. Success depends on the door type and your Strength, Burglars get a success bonus and are quieter, every failed attempt risks damaging the crowbar, and forcing causes Muscle Strain.

Gameplay and quality-of-life in 42.22

• Pushing while encumbered: characters can now push zombies while both hands hold items — the primary-hand item is dropped to allow the shove; large two-handed items (generator, large stone) are dropped.
• No sleeping on a stink: a Bad Smell moodle (generator fumes, massed corpses) now blocks sleep entirely.
• Walk-and-do actions: open ammo boxes, open/close umbrellas, rip sheets, swap batteries, light or snuff candles and hurricane lanterns, swap propane bottles, and take a cigarette from a pack — all while walking.
• XXL trees: more trees are now visible while driving after the cutaway tuning; the devs call it a balance between scenery and sightlines.
• New content & SFX: raccoon skull necklaces (normal and long), a lighter-refill recipe using gasoline plus a funnel, new equip/unequip sounds for melee and throwables, and ladder footsteps that vary by ladder material and footwear.
• Consolidated recipes: several metal sawing recipes merged into fewer, more flexible ones; flashlight lenses now show on/off textures; crafted makeshift radios and walkie-talkies use fixed encumbrance values.
• Fixes players will notice: toasters and coffee machines no longer run on battery power; car keys no longer spawn next to untouched cars; external doors can be locked from inside again (deadbolts); cutting down a tree from the context menu awards Strength XP; animals no longer die when their zone unloads, rabbits finally nurse their kits, and chickens stop vanishing from full hutches.

Multiplayer, mapping and modding in 42.22

• Server-side damage: PvP damage calculations moved to the server, fixing hits that never registered.
• Doppelganger fix: the cloned-character bug at chunk edges is fixed, with credit to community member Six.
• Stability: fixes for a chicken-nest crash when a player leaves a chunk, a StackOverflowError in ItemContainer.getCharacter(), a dedicated-server freeze from "Entity is already registered", and server hangs from IsoGridSquare.BurnWalls with multi-tile objects; server backup creation is faster.
• Multiplayer map & towing: "All Known On Start" works in MP, map notes survive being stored in containers, and trailer physics/towing desync got multiple fixes.
• Mapping: binary map files moved into .source text files, biome map and depthmap textures updated, commercial glass windows fixed, and custom maps can now ship Town Preview videos.

Engine, audio, and multiplayer

New lighting with ambient bounce, a 3D depth buffer enabling interaction with furniture from all sides, better chunk caching, adaptive soundtrack, four male and four female voice options, an official mod manager, and high-resolution UI. Multiplayer arrived mid-unstable with server-side item ownership and support for far-future "Alexandria Years" servers.

What did NOT change

Permadeath, sandbox customization, Knox County's core geography, and co-op persistence remain. The game is still Early Access — not 1.0.

Verified on 42.21 stable & 42.22 Pre-Release · Last checked 2026-10-30

Feature lists and version dates: PZwiki Build 42 page (stable July 29, 2026, version 42.20.4 August 26, 2026; Build 42.21 released to Unstable September 23 and to Stable September 28, 2026). 42.22 content and fixes: official "42.22 Patch Notes" (PZ Updates, October 27, 2026) and the "Moving on Up: 42.22 Pre-Release" announcement. Skills/traits/moodle status: current wiki navboxes. Combat/health/loot balance specifics: verified against official The Indie Stone patch notes for 42.20.0 through 42.20.4 stable, 42.21 and 42.22.