Undead Labs has released a massive update for its survival video game “State of Decay 2.” The patch is clocking in at 20GB and it mostly addresses the glaring issues in the game. On Saturday, Undead Labs announced the release of Patch 1.2 via the game’s official website. According to the studio, the ginormous patch comes with “bug fixes, gameplay tune-ups, and quality of life improvements.” The team said the update is automatic. This means players won’t have to go through a tedious process just to download and install it. Upon logging in, players will be prompted to install Patch 1.2, and this will not affect any saved game. Studio head Jeff Strain revealed that Patch 1.2 is just the beginning of a new era for “State of Decay 2.” “This patch today is just the beginning — we have big plans for ‘State of Decay 2,’ and we’re humbled and appreciative to you for giving us the opportunity to make those big plans happen.” The most noticeable changes that the update brings to “State of Decay 2” are stability, performance and multiplayer improvements. Given the large size of the patch, it also packs in a huge amount of smaller quality of life fixes, as per Undead Labs. With the latest update, grenades do not get stuck and explode in the client character’s face or back when they are thrown away. Zombies are no longer immune to Assault Kick. Plus, the bug that blocks Sheriff legacy arc from starting is no longer around. Below is a copy of the detailed release notes of the new patch: Gameplay Grenades no longer get stuck and explode in front of client character’s face or behind their head while throwing Fixed instances of clients dealing damage to their host’s non-active community members with explosives Flashlight beams no longer cast shadows from the player’s character model (which had caused flickering shadows) Characters no longer “self-shadow” when using a flashlight in multiplayer Fixed issue with doors appearing the opposite of the state they are in Resolved situation where, when getting into vehicles, the camera could become detached from the player’s character Fixed issue where, when clients swap weapons while in vehicles, the weapons do not swap upon exit from vehicle Fixed rare bug that could prevent Warlord legacy arc from being completed Fixed rare bug that could block Sheriff legacy arc from starting Fixed issue where player’s loot sometimes becomes invisible until their entire backpack is deposited into a Supply Locker Networking and Multiplayer Numerous networking bandwidth and CPU improvements Game now exits to main menu faster when a client loses their internet connection, so players will no longer hang after dismissing the pop-up Improved network vehicle interactions in multiplayer games to address weird “rubber-banding” and physics issues (including cars flying into the air). Host facilities no longer appear invisible to clients during multiplayer Zombie and Character Behavior Zombies no longer become immune to the Assault Kick Reduction of step height to prevent survivors popping up onto props while moving HUD Fixed issue with player HUD disappearing after NPCs are executed by zombies Community advice list no longer shows up under vignette on the map Environment and Collision Fixed numerous collision spots across all 3 maps where players or vehicles were getting stuck Fixed numerous collision spots across all 3 maps where players were getting stuck in an infinite freefall animation loop Elimination of white line that appears when driving at night time Addressed a variety of spots in world where player was not able to climb over props they should’ve been able to Additional polish and reduction of LOD popping Additional lighting tuning passes, reduction in glowing props Other Fixes Addressed a variety of general crash bugs Updated a number of strings that were previously hardcoded in English Audio mix optimizations Photo: State of Decay Website<doc-sep>State of Decay 2 launched in, well, a bit of a state. Our reviewer Edwin called the Microsoft Studios game "technically shambolic" in our State of Decay 2 review. Now, developer Undead Labs has released a huge 20GB patch that aims to fix the game's glaring issues. Patch 1.2 includes bug fixes, gameplay tune-ups and quality of life improvements, Undead Labs said. This "significant" download comes "just in time for a leisurely weekend of apocalypse survival". Big ticket changes include stability, performance and multiplayer improvements: Increased stability Improved networking interactions for clients Improved networked vehicle interactions Elimination of Out Of Memory crashes But there are loads of smaller quality of life fixes, too. For more, check out the patch notes. In a personal note, Undead Labs boss Jeff Strain said this patch "is just the beginning".<doc-sep>When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Sign up forfor the biggest new releases, reviews and tech hacks This week saw another big PUBG update land on Xbox One, complete with Miramar upgrades. It wasn’t that long since Bluehole Inc and Microsoft released the new map on consoles. And now a new patch has been launched, aimed at improving the experience, among other things. The development team have confirmed that the Oasis in the northern area of the map has expanded, and should provide better encounters. It should also be noted that player reporting should now be enabled, giving Battle Royale fans the chance to report a team kill on Xbox One. Explaining the tweaks, a new message from the development team outlined some of the goals of the new patch. “Recently we shared a dev letter that gave a preview of some upcoming performance improvements we’ll be implementing in PUBG for Xbox One,” the development message reads. “We’ll need time to deliver on all of those improvements, but in the meantime we’ve got a small patch here with some bug fixes, improvements to Miramar, and a new teamkiller reporting function.” You can read about the other optimisations and tweaks made to PUBG on Xbox One, below: Optimisation Prediction based level streaming has improved. Elastic accuracy control for character has improved. We introduced some back-end changes to prepare for an upcoming feature and in some cases, the game would try to interact with this unfinished feature, causing the game to crash. This has been removed. Player reporting You will now be able to report a team kill. If you get killed by a teammate, simply... Press the Y button when the result is shown to expose the report pop-up Press the A button to report Check whether the “report competed” message is shown on the bottom of the screen If it wasn’t a team kill, the report button won’t appear Miramar Improvements were made mainly in the northern part of Miramar to make it a more appealing area. The Oasis in the northern area of the map has expanded. We’ve added more car spawning positions to facilitate easy travel into and out of the area. Certain problematic terrain elements (which caused weird collisions or movement) have been fixed for a smoother driving experience We’ve added extra farming points to loot in the map. We’ve added more objects like trees and rocks in the northern part of Miramar to provide some additional options for cover. The interiors of certain buildings have been simplified Bluezone<doc-sep>
State of Decay 2 has a lot going for it, but it launched with some pretty serious bugs – crashes, memory leaks, and bizarre clipping issues that only became more pronounced in the game’s multiplayer mode. Undead Labs have been working on addressing these, and they’ve pushed out a 20GB patch that’s geared toward improving connectivity, stability, and in-game quality of life. The high-order fixes in patch 1.2 are geared at game stability and netcode optimization. Odd things could happen while driving vehicles in multiplayer, and that’s been addressed. Out of Memory crashes shouldn’t be an issue any more, and overall interactions between clients and hosts should be a lot less weird now. Got brains? Then check out our list of the best zombie games on PC. Undead Labs have also gone through and fixed some general gameplay bugs, like one that would cause grenades to blow up in the vicinity of your head while throwing them, which is never ideal. They’ve tweaked flashlights to eliminate some shadow flickering issues, and fixed a bug that made open doors appear to be closed and vice versa. The team has also done a pass on collision detection across all three maps, so characters and vehicles have fewer places to get stuck in level geometry now, which is certainly a welcome change. You can check out the full patch notes here. In his State of Decay 2 review, Harry said the game’s fun and innovative ideas were held back by some irritating design decisions and pervasive bugs and performance issues. Hopefully this patch will offer a course correction some of those fronts. Undead Labs studio head Jeff Strain included a personal note with the patch, thanking players for trying the game and promising more to come. “We have big plans for State of Decay 2, and we’re humbled and appreciative to you for giving us the opportunity to make those big plans happen,” he wrote. “Keep playing, keep surviving (or not, as sometimes happens), and stay tuned for more good stuff.”