**[BUG REPORT] Systematic crash to desktop - ntdll.dll heap corruption - AMD RX 6700 - Build 42 Unstable** --- **System specs:** - Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B550-F Gaming - CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X - GPU: AMD Radeon RX 6700 - RAM: 32 GB DDR4 3200MHz (4x8GB Corsair CMK16GX4M2B3200C16) - OS: Windows 11 - GPU drivers: latest as of June 2026 - Chipset drivers: latest - BIOS: latest, DOCP enabled at DDR4-3200MHz --- **Description:** Since updating to Build 42 (latest unstable branch), I am experiencing systematic and frequent crashes to desktop with no warning or error message in-game. The game simply closes and returns to Windows instantly. This never happened on Build 41. The crashes occur randomly — sometimes within seconds of loading into a world, sometimes after a few minutes or more. They are not tied to any specific in-game action. --- **What I have already tried:** - Verified game files via Steam - Full clean reinstall of the game - Tested with zero mods active - Updated GPU drivers, chipset drivers, and BIOS - Disabled AMD Shader Cache and cleared existing cache - Forced OpenGL mode via launch options (`-opengl`) - Tested with Resizable BAR on Auto - The issue does NOT occur in any other game (tested with Tekken 8, Oblivion Remastered, and others) — this is specific to Project Zomboid B42 --- **Windows Event Viewer error (consistent across every crash):** ``` Faulting application name: ProjectZomboid64.exe, version: 0.0.0.0 Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 10.0.26100.8328 Exception code: 0xc0000374 Fault offset: 0x0000000000117175 Faulting process ID: variable Faulting application path: D:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\ProjectZomboid\ProjectZomboid64.exe Faulting module path: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll ``` **Exception code 0xc0000374 = heap corruption.** Notably, the fault offset (0x0000000000117175) is identical across every single crash, suggesting this is a fully reproducible code path triggering the corruption. No `hs_err_pid` file is generated in the Zomboid folder. --- **Last lines of the game log before crash:** ``` [07-06-26 21:51:17.742] WARN : General  at SpriteConfig.initObjectInfo > Invalid SpriteConfig object! scripted object = Wooden_Windows. ``` (Log ends here with no further error output) --- **Additional notes:** This appears to be specific to the B42 rendering pipeline changes combined with AMD RX 6000 series hardware. Build 41 ran perfectly on this exact same setup with no crashes whatsoever. Please let me know if you need any additional logs or information. Happy to run any diagnostic you suggest. 2026-06-08_12-52_DebugLog.txt

Another crash, this one on startup before the main menu shows up.

So, i tried this yesterday and it seemed to work, i had two long sessions on the game with no crashes, but i just relaunched it (i made sure to check that the services were still disabled) and the game crashed 30 seconds after my save was loaded. Should i keep the services disabled or reactivate them ?

Are you able to create a new save now?

Ehh, I sort of understand where you're coming from but there are multiple considerations here:   1: Is it worth entirely reworking the combat to work off of physics or as you say, ballistics and trajectories, (properly syncing it to swing speed, etc while still considering skills and working out bugs that come with totally replacing the melee system) instead of just tweaking variables to improve the experience (or adding layers with the current system in mind) for what you want to achieve.  You can run calculations to trigger events like knockback etc that can resemble what you want without having to transition to physics based combat.    2: Sure, getting stabbed with a screwdriver really hurts as a person, because we feel pain. When it comes to actually punching through bone, you know, to get to the brain, your strength and endurance will absolutely matter. Even if you're the most skilled knife fighter in the world, if you're a noodle-armed pip squeak you're going to need to put some serious work into punching through a skull. And considering that a majority of the bladed weapons are makeshift implements or flimsy and not made for that purpose...   Idk, seems reasonable to me that when you're tired or unskilled you're having to punch through the skull like you're trying to chisel out one of those toy dino fossils from the plaster eggs.    The assumption, generally, is that your character is always hitting the head or face,  but you do have to use your imagination sometimes. If there was some more variance like glancing hits etc to depict when your character is not at their best, that'd be cool too. Or someone who's dead tired thrusting low w/ a bladed weapon and hitting the lower jaw or shoulders instead.   I think an alternative could be to introduce skill-based attacks that trigger randomly or can be used intentionally that have different properties, I.E a wide swing with a baseball bat that can hit one zombie into others to make them stumble in a correlating direction, or an over-head chop with an axe that is significantly more likely to crit, but takes more stamina or doesn't knock the zombie back, forcing you to position carefully to use it, or stabbing a zombie on one of the weaker sections of skull w/ a knife to get an instant kill. Visible representations of the character's skills that achieve similar goals to what you're wanting, something kinetic with a little more variation.