# Project Zomboid 42.12.0 UNSTABLE Released

- Product: Project Zomboid (https://whatsnew.fyi/product/project-zomboid)
- Vendor: The Indie Stone
- Date: 2025-09-25
- Original notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/108600/view/520851629825589654
- Permalink: https://whatsnew.fyi/product/project-zomboid/releases/2025-09-25-42.12.0-unstable-released

What's New is an index, not a publisher: every entry below links to the vendor's own release notes, which are the authoritative source. Entries are labelled where they are hand-curated sample data, pre-releases, or drawn from a secondary source such as a developer blog.

Reuse: the summaries, labels and curation here are © What's New. Quote freely with attribution and a link back; wholesale republication of the corpus is not permitted — terms: https://whatsnew.fyi/terms. The vendors' own release notes remain their publishers'.

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- **changed** — Reordered hit location damage calculation to occur after physics ballistics body part is selected
- **changed** — Ranged weapon damage now makes use of specific body part damage modifiers, with headshots receiving 3x damage and legs and arms receiving reduced damage
- **fixed** — Fixed shotgun targeting bug where zombies were dodging pellets and other pellets were disappearing when aiming at specific body parts
- **added** — View cone opacity slider added to performance settings
- **changed** — Updated vision cone to use square lighting outside when brighter than current daylight value to benefit from streetlights and light sources at dusk, dawn and night
- **changed** — Updated lighting system so that rooms behind shut doors are blacked out
- **added** — Added more tiles to Breakable Metal Fences
- **changed** — While resting, the Endurance moodle now acts as a progress indicator
- **changed** — Updated pathfinding to allow players to plan paths over climbable walls during Walk-To where it is possible to climb over the wall
- **added** — Added muzzle flash models, textures, and model keys
- **added** — Allow players to store corpses in the vehicle trunk or seats
- **added** — Add required items and sorted by name into the crafting UIs, renamed sort by name to sort Alphabetical (A-Z)
- **changed** — Cigarettes can be smoked directly from the pack without removing them beforehand
- **changed** — Fluid containers that need to be opened to be consumed now have the option to Drink available if the player is capable of opening them
- **changed** — Canned food that needs to be opened to be consumed now has the RMC option to Open and Eat available if the player is capable of opening it
- **added** — Double clicking on pills and consumable drainables such as chewing tobacco triggers the character to consume the item
- **added** — Double clicking on beverage fluid items gets the player to drink the beverage, opening it beforehand if required
- **added** — Double clicking on water fluid items will have the player drink the water if thirsty
- **changed** — Improved auto-highlight of first recipe in craft UI on search to only highlight player-selected recipe
- **added** — Added evaluation for player-visible taint or poison to disable double-click drinking on fluid items if they are player visibly tainted or poisoned
- **added** — Added SHIFT + CLICK on the Available ingredients list for windows-style selection in Build and Crafting menus

UNSTABLE WARNING - Due to changes in Generator fuel consumption and corresponding defaults; existing saves will likely experience increased fuel consumption; Meta: 'Generator Fuel Consumption' Sandbox Settings can be changed in debug mode.

**There is an issue when Refueling from Gas Pumps currently found last-minute. It must be cancelled with ESC, or by sprinting. Your character may not move if you simply try to walk away.**

##### _How do I subscribe to the Unstable beta branch?_

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**NEW**

- Reordered hit location damage calculation to occur after physics ballistics body part is selected.
- Ranged weapon damage can now make use of specific body part damage modifiers. This brings ranged damage into line with how melee combat works, head shots will receive 3x damage, legs and arms get dealt far less.
- Fixed Shotgun Targeting Bug. Zombies were dodging your pellets. When aiming a shotgun at a specific body part, the other pellets were mysteriously disappearing. Now all shotgun pellets properly calculate their hits, every zombie will get what's coming.
- These changes should impact on how shotguns play and feel.

- View cone opacity slider added to performance settings.
- Updated vision cone to use square lighting outside when it is brighter than the current daylight value, so that players can benefit from streetlights and other light sources at dusk, dawn and night.
- Updated lighting system so that rooms behind shut doors are blacked out.

- Added more tiles to Breakable Metal Fences
- While resting, the Endurance moodle now acts as a progress indicator.
- Updated pathfinding to allow players to plan paths over climbable walls during Walk-To where it's possible to climb over the wall.
- Added muzzle flash models, textures, and model keys.
- Allow players to store corpses in the vehicle trunk or seats

- Add "required items" and "sorted by name" into the crafting UIs. Renamed sort 'by name' to sort 'Alphabetical (A-Z)

- Cigarettes can be smoked directly from the pack without removing them beforehand.
- Fluid containers that need to be opened to be consumed will, if the player is capable of opening the fluid container, have the option to Drink available, and when selected the craft recipe to open it will be performed. The RMC option for drinking beverages is now "Open and Drink" as opposed to "Drink".
- Canned Food that need to be opened to be consumed will, if the player is capable of opening the canned food, have the RMC option to Open and Eat available, and when selected the craft recipe to open it will be performed before the eating action.

- Similar to how double-clicking on food items gets the character to eat the food item. Double clicking on pills and consumable drainables such as chewing tobacco trigger the character to consume the item. This does not apply to rat poison as it would kill the player on account of an accidental double-click.
- Double clicking on beverage fluid items will get the player to drink the beverage, opening it beforehand if required.
- Double clicking on water fluid items will, if the player is thirsty, have the player drink the water.
- Improved Auto-highlight of first recipe in craft UI on search. List will now always only highlight player-selected recipe.
- Added evaluation for player-visible taint/poison to disable double-click drinking on fluid items if they are player visibly tainted/poisoned.
- Added SHIFT + CLICK on the Available ingredients list windows-style selection (currently for Build and Crafting menus, will be added for work stations later on as well).
- Added CTRL + CLICK on the header's node will select everything inside it.

- Crafting/build menus close when character moves. Added lock button to Handcraft and Build windows to prevent window autoclosing on walk.
- Craft/build/entity UIs save and restore size/position between loads/saves

- Items can be marked as "Unwanted", setting all instances of that item to display a text highlight in

_[Truncated at 4000 characters — full notes: https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/108600/view/520851629825589654]_