Preview – 3.25.5.0 Changelog

[MoltonMontro]

Preview branch version 3.25.5.101 is now available. This information may change between now and the update’s official release.

Warning

Please note: New versions on the preview branch are designed to load older saves (backwards compatibility). However, the public branch typically cannot load saves made with newer versions (forwards compatibility). Therefore, if you plan to switch back to the public branch before the update is officially released, we recommend that you avoid loading important saves on the preview branch. Additionally, make sure to back up any maps before saving them in the level editor.

Estimated Release

We’re aiming to release this update the week of the 12th through 16th.

General

Disclaimer: we’re hoping for bug reports and feedback on the new features and crafting menu. We have more content in the works than currently on the preview branches but those might be part of a future update instead.

Please let us know what works well – and what doesn’t!

Workstations

This update introduces workstations! Many crafting recipes have been updated to now require a workstation. Several recipes have had other changes, making them more (or less) expensive, requiring a certain skill, or needing different ingredients than before.

Although we’ve made many of these changes based on survey feedback, this update contains a lot of changes. For players uninterested in this update – you can easily disable them with the new “Enable Workstation Requirements” difficulty setting. Though we’re hopeful this update meets your expectations and you’ll enjoy this gameplay change. We’re keeping a close eye on your feedback so that we can make further adjustments as necessary.

Some items can still be crafted from anywhere! For example: Rags, Bandages, Splints, Bedrolls, Spikes, Fertilizer, the Saw, and wooden structures can be crafted without workstations.

Get started by making a Simple Workbench.

Separate Branch for Unity 2022 LTS + A*PFP 5.3.6

We hoped to upgrade the A* Pathfinding Project, from version 3.5.9.1 (very old!) to 5.3.6. This would fix some bugs, improve performance (ideally), and open new possibilities for enemy pathfinding. The navmesh cutting feature we use isn’t compatible with 2021 LTS in this new version, so we would also need to update the Unity engine.

Unfortunately, we’re seeing a performance drop with these upgrades. We’re waiting until we can find a solution. This would most likely happen in a future update—not this upcoming one. If you’d like to look for bugs or see the current performance issues, these changes are available on a separate Steam branch: unity-2022-preview

Changelog

New Items

• Simple Workbench [ID: 1916]
• Dye Vat [ID: 1917]
• Desk Lamp [ID: 1918]
• Brick Oven [ID: 1919]
• Chemistry Lab [ID: 1920]

Crafting Balance

• Most items are craftable from a Simple Workbench. (Some basic items—like Rags, Splints, and Wooden Structures—are still craftable from anywhere.)
• Most items are repairable from a Simple Workbench. (With some exceptions—such as bows, arrows, and drinks/canteens.)
• Buffed durability of suppressors, most guns, and most melee weapons across the board, to compensate for them now needing a workstation to be repaired.
• High-end medicine (vaccines, dressings, etc.) and explosive items (charges, grenades, etc.) can be crafted at a Chemistry Lab.
• Certain items can be recolored at a Dye Vat.
• In addition to previously recolorable items, dye recipes now exist for: Parka, T-Shirt, Shirt, Trunks, Toque, Cap, Bandana, Balaclava, Poncho, Scarf, Sweatervest, Daypack, Dufflebag, Travelpack, and Umbrella.
• Morphine, Adrenaline, and Medkits are now craftable.
• Straw Hats are now craftable, repairable, and salvageable with/for Wheat.
• Impact-Absorbing Pants have an alternative crafting recipe, using Thief Pants.
• Sportshot is cheaper to repair but salvages for less.
• Adjusted the Engineering skill level required for various guns.
• Brick Structures now require Crafting II skill.
• Vaccines now require Crafting III skill.

General Balance

• Increased most vanilla storage container sizes by 20-30%.
• Reduced Lederhosen storage sizes to better match similar items
• Buff Spring-Loaded Boots storage from 3x2 to 4x2 and provide a slight amount of armor (0.975 multiplier) to encourage more use.
• Tracksuit Bottom and Cargo Pants rarity changed from Common to Uncommon (similar to other 15+ slot pants) - only visual change, spawn chances are the same.
• Morphine restores more health.
• Adjusted damage values on Pike, Shovel, Scythe, and Snow Shovel.
• Updated several item names and descriptions. Of particular note, Oven is now Electric Stove.

Performance

• Improved performance drawing sparse variants of instanced foliage.
• Improved vehicle update performance, particularly for wheeled vehicles.
• Improved skybox reflection capture performance.
• Improved physics material custom properties performance (e.g., for footstep audio).
• Reduced overhead of many of the variable-length network RPCs.
• Replaced legacy blur effect with newer built-in depth of field.

Quality of Life

• Certain error messages show a button to check for updates and repair game files.
• Added accessibility option to tune down sprinting field-of-view boost.
• Freecam now loads distance objects and trees, much better for recording or spectating!

Crafting Menus

• Blueprints are sorted from most to least craftable. Previously, they were sorted fully craftable and then a mix of everything else.
• Blueprints using “state transfer” preview the applied changes to the output item.
• Mods can create custom categories for filtering their blueprints. The new Salvage category is an example of this.
• The crafting menu lists all blueprints craftable with your current items. (Previously, it always applied a filter, which is now optional.)
• Compressed crafting list entries to fit better on smaller screens.
• Blueprints with quest-related conditions/rewards can display them in the new crafting details panel.
• Ignoring blueprints was moved to the details panel. Ignored blueprints are now hidden from results, rather than unclickable.
• Ignoring blueprints as a way to avoid accidentally crafting blindfolds is less necessary now that a hotkey is needed to skip opening the details panel.
• Crafting menu tooltips explain why a blueprint is not currently craftable.
• Dye recipes now only appear if you have the white base item. (Previously, they’d appear if you had a flare.)
• Added new loading screen tips for workstations.

Difficulty Settings

• Added Enable_Workstation_Requirements to Gameplay config. If turned off, only the previously-existing “Heat Source” requirement applies.

Modding

• “/FreezeCameraTransform” command to preview regional visibility.
• Effect asset OneShotAudio property for audio-only effects.
• Asset error messages include which mod they’re from.
• Blueprints, item actions, and NPC conditions and rewards support newer dat list format.
• Running the game with “-ParseAssetMetadata” and “-ResaveAssets” can automatically convert most blueprints to the newer format. This is our first experiment with automatically upgrading asset files.
• Cobra_Jam example item is now guaranteed to lose quality each shot, so it’s more consistent for modders experimenting with gun jamming. (Not relevant for most players.)

Fixes

• Chewing gum in wrong position for left-handed characters. [Thanks Zone!]
• Poor handling of delayed Internet response in cosmetic crafting menu. [Thanks Praise The Lord!]
• Rocket launcher projectiles with modded grenade components credit the shooter. [Thanks rube200!]
• Maybe fix driver turret rotation in multiplayer. [Thanks mewshindo!]
• Corrected some non-HTTPS URLs to HTTPS.
• Streamer Mode loading screen tip missing from tips list.

---

Read on our support site: Preview branch.

Reports and track bugs on GitHub: Issues · SmartlyDressedGames/Unturned-3.x-Community · GitHub.

[VTM]

So workstations will be optional, what does this mean for modded content that wants to require workstations? The wording seems to imply you’ll still be able to make the workstations, you just wont need to use them in order to craft anything.

And not to be picky, but why wasn’t a time to craft feature added with this? Was it considered at least? Again, I’m appreciative of the possibilities that this opens up. I can make a Minecraft like tech pack now, but it seems like a huge missed opportunity to not have a crafting time feature.

[MoltonMontro]

@VTM

So workstations will be optional, what does this mean for modded content that wants to require workstations? The wording seems to imply you’ll still be able to make the workstations, you just wont need to use them in order to craft anything.

We haven’t released modding documentation yet. But workstations are actually crafting tags (a new type of asset) which barricades can provide.

There’s several crafting tags included already. These are used by the new barricades.

If you’re creating a mod, you could use those same tags. Or you could create your own tags, and have recipes require those custom crafting tags.

[Sodazone42]

The oven has been buffed les go

[sm1leeywashere]

Could we please have an option for either new or old crafting UI, please? I can’t be asked using this new UI. Not trying to hate, just genuinely don’t like it, and with 12000 hours, I’m pretty used to the old one. I’m even using Glazier IMGUI just because whenever u craft with the new UI, it fps drops you alot. Please give us an option. Thanks.
You can for some reason dupe on the preview branch while crafting? (most likely a bug) while shift clicking lots of stuff, it uses 1 instead of all of the items you have in your inventory.
Vaccine recipe seems to be missing as well. Also the recipes for the meds literally don’t make sense, but whatever. I don’t see anybody ever crafting them, even roleplayers.

[MoltonMontro]

@sm1leeywashere

You can for some reason dupe on the preview branch while crafting? (most likely a bug) while shift clicking lots of stuff, it uses 1 instead of all of the items you have in your inventory.
Vaccine recipe seems to be missing as well.

Thanks for the report! We’ll look into it.

[biedaktokox]

I have a couple of things to say for this update.
First of all, the banger update. The UI looks fancy but clean and easy to read. Updated blueprints are also easier to make and read now, though I have one issue with them; I wrote about it later.

ISSUES

• TL;DR - workstations range not customizable (hardcoded) and too big, workstations can only be barricade, not object.
  The range of crafting stations (CraftingTags) is hardcoded and too big. From my research in game files, I couldn’t find anything related to a range of those crafting stations.
  The best fix would be to allow people to set a custom range for how far players can use them. Or at least make the range smaller.
  Correct me if I’m wrong, but you can only put crafting tags on barricades, not objects, right? It causes a minor issue, since arena maps by default reset ALL barricades placed on maps when the match starts, even those barricades that were placed inside the map editor.
  When I was making my arena map, I wanted to have “crafting stations” in specific places on the map. I tried using heat as a crafting requirement, but I couldn’t place a campfire through the editor, because game deleted it by default when the match started. It’s only issue for arenas since on survival maps there will be no problem with placing crafting stations through the editor, but I still wanted to mention it.
  

  

• TL;DR - switch GUIDs and number IDs into string IDs (e.g., Metal scrap - ID metal_scrap or vanilla_metal_scrap)
  I know that IDs are problematic and usually cause compatibility issues with different mods that use the same IDs. GUIDs are cool because it’s almost impossible to get two of the same ones, and it’s good until you have to use them, like for blueprints or spawn tables. It will be a bigger issue if someone creates a blueprint with items from mods, and will have to look for their GUIDs. Having a huge list of all items and their GUIDs just to create a blueprint. Finding bugs in blueprints will also be harder since GUIDs are harder to read than normal IDs. One letter change and everything is broken, and you don’t even know what is broken.
  My suggestion is to switch to strings. Minecraft uses string IDs, for example. I don’t know how hard it would be to implement something like this to Unturned, but for sure it would make modding way easier, and it wouldn’t cause any compatibility issues between different mods. People already use prefixes for their folders and .dat files, they will also use this for IDs (e.g., arid_metal_scrap).
  

  

• TL;DR - dupe glitch when Ctrl clicking blueprint
  Someone already mentioned it but wanted to say it again since they said shift click but for me it was ctrl click ;p

QUESTIONS

• I LOOOVE the ability to make custom blueprint categories, though I would like to have only custom categories on my map. Is it possible to like disable all or only chosen vanilla categories, so they aren’t visible in the crafting menu? It would make managing blueprints even better for custom maps. I would love to see that.
  Suggestion: having some description under the category name would also be cool, but not necessary
  

  

• Can one barricade have different crafting tags, and can blueprints have OR or AND logic for workstations? Like you have to stand next to two different workstations to craft something, or you can choose one of two workstations, which have different crafting tags, to craft that item.

[SDGNelson]

Last night we finished a first pass on the documentation for this update, now available on our documentation site! Of particular note: Blueprints v2 Format

Q: Was a time-to-craft feature considered?
A: It is something we discussed, and isn’t necessarily off the table for the future.

Q: Can the old crafting menu be used, particularly for performance reasons?
A: We’re conscious that GUI changes are often unpopular, and have attempted to keep the menu very familiar.
Many aspects of crafting have received performance improvements, but the new default view showing ALL partially craftable recipes may be slower than the old default filtering by category. Enabling “Hide Uncraftable” cuts down on that, but we can investigate further. Any feedback on specific elements of the new crafting menu you dislike or performance issues would be greatly appreciated!

Duping bug:
Thanks for the report! This should be fixed shortly in a patch. Some state wasn’t properly reset when using CTRL to repeat the blueprint.

Vaccine missing:
We checked into this, but it seems to be showing up on our end. We did change the requirements a bit: Crafting Level III and a Chemistry Lab are now required. Is that why it wasn’t showing up?

Q: Why is the “nearby” range hardcoded?
A: Currently, available crafting tags are refreshed per-player in a sphere around them. In a level with potentially hundreds or even thousands of tag providers, a per-player lookup may be more efficient performance-wise than a per-tag-provider lookup. Two examples of alternative approaches allowing a per-tag-provider (workstation) radius would be:

• Large trigger volumes per-tag-provider that monitor for player overlaps. For example, a sphere collider with trigger enabled, allowing a custom radius.
• Passive colliders per-tag-provider that don’t actively monitor for player overlaps, but can be queried by the physics system at the player position. Rather than checking in a sphere around the player, only the player’s position would be tested against these.

However, both of these options add a lot of additional colliders to the scene. It’s a performance trade-off. This was one of the key considerations in removing colliders from structure snapping: it was a performance win removing tens of thousands of colliders from the scene (not to mention the new snapping is more context-sensitive), albeit with more coding needed for new structure sizes or formats.

All this to say, there isn’t necessarily a “best” decision here. Ideally, we might revisit this same trade-off for a system like stealth / mob-perception to allow per-zombie/per-animal detection checks. That currently uses a per-player nearby mobs lookup (similar to nearby tags) as opposed to per-mob nearby targets lookup, but adding per-mob colliders could be a big gameplay improvement.

Q: Can crafting tags be provided by anything other than barricades?
A: Yes! Using the Crafting Tag Provider and Crafting Tag Modifier components, more details in the mod hooks documentation. We might have forgotten to update the Project package with these scripts for the preview branch and will make sure to do that for a patch today.

Edit 2025-05-07: here’s the most recent Project.unitypackage. (not on preview branch yet, unfortunately)

Q: Why not string-based asset identifiers?
A: Named IDs for configuration would be more user-friendly. However, they’re more prone to collisions (similar to legacy IDs) and less resilient to renaming. With -ResaveAssets we’re moving toward automatically commenting asset references in files and (ideally) more user-friendly tooling for configuration.

Q: Is it possible to hide vanilla crafting cateogires?
A: Sort of, indirectly. Categories are populated from the blueprints available in the level, so if the level prevents crafting vanilla blueprints and does not use any vanilla crafting categories then the they will not be shown.

Q: Can a barricade provide multiple crafting tags?
A: Yep!

Q: Can crafting tags be tested with OR / AND logic?
A: Not yet. We’re headed in that direction but no ETA. This was one of the aims of rewriting several systems to support the newer list format:

Previously, AND / OR logic for NPC conditions would’ve looked something like (1 and (2 or 3)) referring to conditions by index. In the future, we’d like to support something like:

[
    {
        // 1
    }
    AND
    [
        {
            // 2
        }
        OR
        {
            // 3
        }
    ]
]

[biedaktokox]

Thanks for the answers, I’m positively surprised how well this update is modding-wise! A lot of different possibilities. Though I still have some things to say.

@SDGNelson

Q: Was a time-to-craft feature considered?

I’ve had some ideas in my mind for a while now for timed crafting system. I will create post about my idea tomorrow. Hopefully, you can take it for inspiration!

@SDGNelson

Q: Why is the “nearby” range hardcoded?

Afaik, campfire heat is customizable through Unity, you can move and scale down gameobject, and it will change where player gets heat buff. I’m a mediocre programmer, and I don’t know how Unturned is coded but heat and crafting tags seem to work the same. Maybe you should look into something like this. Performance-wise, I wouldn’t care so much for extra lag, after all, how many workstations can be placed on the average server? Other things probably cause more lag anyway. Again, I’m a mediocre programmer, so I might be wrong here, just giving my opinions.

But if we have to stay with a hardcoded range, at least make it smaller because now it’s huge, and people will just use your workstations outside your base, even if there are two walls between them.

@SDGNelson

Q: Why not string-based asset identifiers?

I wouldn’t be so afraid of collisions in IDs. Currently, we only have 60k-ish possible identifiers, and it’s not much considering the average curated map item count. With words (26 letters + 10 numbers + 1 “_” = 37 characters), we have almost as many possibilities as with GUIDs. Let’s say the limit of characters would be 10, then the Sum from k=1 to 10 of 37^k, it equals approximately 8 * 10^15.

If modders would use the unwritten modding etiquette rule of using prefixes for their mods (e.g., arid_metal_scrap, buak_metal_scrap), there wouldn’t be as many collisions. If someone wants to create colliding assets, they can always grab an existing GUID and use it (I doubt someone would do that lol)

User-friendly string identifiers exceed no colliding GUIDs by a lot. I understand it might be problematic to implement, considering old mods, but I hope we will get to see a better and more user-friendly asset-identifier system.