H1Z1's "Big Damn Patch" Out Now

Daybreak Games, formerly known as Sony Online Entertainment, has rolled out a new update for its PC zombie game H1Z1 that it's calling "The Big Damn Patch." A silly title, maybe, but the update indeed lives up to the name.

The patch is certainly a big one, addressing a long list of bugs and introducing a suite of new features and items, including more guns, workbenches, and more. H1Z1's Dam area has also been given an overhaul. Now maybe the name "Big Damn Patch" makes a little more sense.

The full H1Z1 "Big Damn Patch" notes are available below, courtesy of Daybreak. For a closer look at the Dam area overhaul, see the images in the gallery at the bottom of this post.

H1Z1 launched through Steam Early Access back in January. Though the game experienced some server woes at launch, it has since gone on to sell more than 1 million copies in its unfinished state.

The game is also coming to PlayStation 4, though a release date for that version has not been announced. And, although Daybreak has broken free from Sony and is eyeing Xbox support, the company has not announced any plans to bring H1Z1 to Xbox One.

General:

New Male character model is available
The Dam area has been given a major overhaul
Battle Royale starting area has been updated
Current Grid position is now shown on-screen(like BR). Hand drawn map has basic grid markers
Added a new equip slot for the face
Fixed Bug - player will now exit a vehicle towards the same side on which they are seated
Fixed bug where player could sometimes get injured when moving off a rock
Fixed a lot of erroneous terrain bugs that have caused objects to float including cars, campsites, and other smaller objects
Added a small improvement to placing free placed items, preventing them from being able to clip through walls
Server optimizations made to the body sim
Zombies will now wear the lootable hats and helmets they have in their inventory. They will carry weapons. Note: They do not the wear lootable shirts or pants yet
Pickup Truck first person interior has been enhanced
R380 pistol added to game; it is a high fire rate, low caliber pocket pistol. The R380 can be found in BR and around the world in the core game
12GA Shotgun damage increased

Zombie Spawn Changes:

Made zombie total population based on player population, to keep low-pop servers from getting completely overrun. This does not include the current wandering hordes (which are accounted for outside this number). On a server full of players, the total number of zombies is unchanged
Biased zombie spawns toward areas with more player heat, and more items, so that cities, camps, and player firefights have the highest rate of zombie spawns, and the wilderness areas have less
Made the spawned zombies that occur in player spawn areas biased more toward low-speed shamblers, so that new players (with no weapons) can more easily run away

Workbenches, Ammo Conversion, Gun Dismantling, and You:

Workbenches can be found in the world or crafted and placed. If you are close enough to the workbench you will be able to use it to create specific recipes. You dont actually interact with the workbench at this time, you just need to have it in your proximity. It can be used to convert ammo into other types of ammo, break down guns into gun repair kits, or to create some of the existing recipes that would be too difficult to do by hand
Any type of ammunition can be broken down into “Gun Components." Each bullet or shell will give you 1 Bullet Component. You can then use 2 Bullet Components to make any other type of ammunition
Guns can be dismantled into “Gun Parts." Larger guns will give more gun parts. You can then use three gun parts to create a “Gun Repair Kit." This repair kit can be used on weapons to repair them. Currently this will repair any weapon, but in the future it will be restricted to guns only
Metal crafting recipes will now require a workbench to create. This includes the recipes for Metal Sheets, Metal Pipes, Machete, Combat Knife, Bear Trap, Landmine, IED, and the above mentioned conversion recipes for ammo and guns