Project Zomboid Build 42.20.0 update revamps map and anti-cheat

Project Zomboid's latest stable build, 42.20.0, arrives as part of preparations for the full Build 42 Stable release. It also ships a security patch for Builds 41 and 42.19, credited to Jorge Escabias for responsible disclosure. Because the fix may affect some mods, mod authors are asked to report compatibility issues in the mod_portal channel on Discord.

The map has received a substantial "glowup," with many areas overhauled using new tiles, buildings, locations, room definitions, and containers, plus performance optimizations around the new content. World generation adds XL and XXL tree types with updated biomes, and cutting down the Extra Large trees gives more wood loot. While driving or scouting ahead, players can hide XL tree overhang with a right-click.

Challenge mode gets two new entries: "28 Minutes Later" and "Top of the World" replace "Cabin in the Woods" in rotation. Spawn coordinates were adjusted for "Winter is Coming" and "A Really CDDA," which no longer allows respawning. Challenge menu videos and descriptions were updated, as was the main menu artwork. Main menu SFX is temporarily disabled, and an epilepsy warning now appears at startup. The Unstable warning message was removed, and the Discovered Recipes and Media UI gained filter search boxes, alphabetical sorting, and discovered recipes shown on top.

Butcher hooks now yield more meat cuts from large animals. Vehicle speed and towing were rebalanced, allowing trailers to detach during sharp or fast turns. The "Zombie count before deletion" Sandbox option caps at 5000 instead of 500, Extinction mode's WouldInfectionFactor was raised to 2.0, and the sand biome's sand/dirt/clay balance was tweaked.

The default controller preset is now "Original," with running/sprinting bound to buttons. The update adds gamepad support to the trading interface and PrintMedia, improves campfire interaction reliability, and fixes numerous controller issues including crop interaction, fishing, vehicle seat menus, and several crashes.

Anti-cheat has been reworked and re-enabled, with antiCheatItem now handled server-side; NoClip and PacketException are still WIP. Servers gain a "Show coordinates" option, ping values in the Players and Users list tabs, faster load times between "Click to Start" and spawning, better network performance during vehicle-zombie collisions, and a reworked stackable-item transfer system that should speed up large stack transfers.

Trading now has separate interfaces for each splitscreen player and a full list of tradable items. The patch fixes numerous exploits, including item spawning via animal attachment commands, arbitrary item spawning in the world or via modData, XP exploits, foraging item manipulation, and copying dedicated server map data. It also addresses a long list of multiplayer bugs: zombie culling and desyncs, remote animation timing, special characters in server names, map chunks failing to load while driving, local chat not displaying, garage doors, hand crafting, skill book XP, and more.

Notable fixes include a rare AMD GPU crash, a macOS crash, Linux/MacBook desktop icons, hypothermia dealing damage too fast, generator power consumption, point-blank shots missing, vehicle engine power being set to maximum script values, excessive zombie thump damage, and restoration of the Modding API functionality lost in the 42.14 security patch. SFX adds new sounds for metal saw crafting, welding, packing/unpacking, and water dispensers, and fixes VOIP cutting out under heavy audio load. Build 42 now correctly applies default options when migrating from Build 41, and compatibility launch mode is back.

Players who want to stay on Build 41 can right-click Project Zomboid in Steam, go to Properties, and under "Game Version & Betas" select legacy41. For a highlights overview of Build 42's features, see the official feature list. Discussion about the update is pinned in the Project Zomboid forums.