Multiplayer for IWBUMS

[Ryu7777]

I have had project zomboid ever since I got my PC and have loved playing it with my friends, the satisfaction of completing a build on a massive base, the first helicopter event and the panic that came with it. Though when IWBUMS build was released there was no multiplayer and we were confused, the game was amazing, it felt smooth, looked so much better, there was even a mod released adding AI survivors and we were all just confused why there was no multiplayer, does anyone know why and when/if it well be added? 

[nasKo]

Build 41 has changed a lot and is easily the biggest change to the game, ever.  

The new animation system meant that by default none of the animation states would sync in multiplayer. 
 

With the old Multiplayer being very much a "tacked on" system and a rework being made necessary by Build 41 anyways, we wanted to rework the multiplayer entirely in order to eliminate issues that were so prevalent in the old architecture.  

 

Releasing Build 41 without MP meant that players would get to play 41 earlier and thus, also provide us with feedback about the significant changes to the gameplay. Releasing MP and SP at the same time would have not only been a frustratingly long wait, it would have also meant we would have had to fix SP and MP bugs all at the same time, with some possibly being exclusive to one or the other.

We've talked about this in a recent blog post:

Quote

Lastly, just wanted to add a few candid words about the ongoing MP development – We know people are frustrated at the long wait, and are seeing more and more frustrated comments about MP’s absense from B41 as the weeks go by.

 

We’re sorry that it’s taking so long – however it is what it is, and is what it is for numerous reasons – not only the immense task of building a strong and capable multiplayer architecture, ripping out the old systems, creating multiplayer that will see the game succeed and help build up a larger multiplayer following on B41’s full release (something we’re not willing to compromise on, as B41 going live fully will be the most crucial opportunity for Zomboid to grow in popularity since the game’s initial release, and squandering that opportunity with flaky MP could have a hugely negative impact on PZ in the future), but also with only a limited number of the team able to undertake the work that needs to be done, along with the various additional challenges from fun and unavoidable lockdown/childcare related issues within the team that come from the ongoing COVID-19 situation. It’s definitely been a slog and will continue to be for a while.
 

As with many other dev teams, we’re not necessarily firing on every cylinder right now – but even if we were, this is and has always been a lot of work to undertake, something we’ve tried to stress again and again – and while it’s taking a lot of time in less than ideal circumstances, the results are extremely exciting, and progress is definitely picking up.
 

It’ll take however long it takes though – we’re never ones to give ETAs at the best of times, but as stated these are not the best of times, and all we can promise is we want it out there as much if not more than any of you, and will continue to work tirelessly on getting it out there to you all as soon as possible – and if you want a silver lining, if we went with our original plan you’d still be playing B40 while we worked on this. The whole reason we released B41 into IWBUMs as single player only was anticipating we’d be wading in MP guts for some time, though we didn’t know quite how long it would end up taking, so we’re thankful that people are getting to experience all the work we put into B41 now, along with improving B41 alongside the community while the MP work is underway – and finally we want to thank those who are showing patience and understanding about what we’re trying to accomplish here, and have shown support in the community. It helps keep us motivated a lot!
 

Once B41 is finally out there, we already got lots of real exciting stuff to show off for what’s coming next. We’ve long learnt from our mistakes of the past, and now only show stuff pertaining to the current build in development in the blog updates – but that doesn’t mean we don’t have plenty of extremely juicy stuff piling up behind the scenes we’re dying for people to see.

 

 

 

[Artfu1D0dger]

i recently started playing again after a long time; i haven't played this game since before the update with the cars was released, so that is all new to me and i immediately jumped into this v.41 beta

 

...and all i have to say is you guys screwed up big time; v41 is SOOO much better with so many improvements xD; the demand for multiplayer is going to be ridiculous; i'm certainly already wanting it; i used to run my own server with friends back in the day and am dying to try this new v.41 build with friends xD; you should not have improved the game so much!

 

gimmi gimmi gimmi multiplayer!   (and yes i've seen the thread about progress on MP, so link is not necessary)