HumanitZ 1.04 Patch Notes: Bug Fixes and Quality of Life Changes

The HumanitZ 1.04 update has arrived, delivering a substantial wave of bug fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and critical server-side adjustments—just over two weeks after the previous patch. While the development team acknowledges this is not the complete list of reported issues on their roadmap, this release targets high-priority fixes that could be deployed quickly. Key changes include the ability to repair brooms, skill magazines now stacking up to five, improved quest reward balancing, and the removal of horse use underwater (both player and horse will now take drowning damage). Server owners gain a new tool to disable Family Sharing, combating banned players who attempt to bypass restrictions—this feature is off by default on private servers but disabled entirely on Official Servers, which will also undergo a full wipe. From performance fixes and inventory corrections to audio-visual tweaks and AI improvements, the 1.04 patch lays crucial groundwork while the team prepares for a larger content drop in version 1.1.

Summary

Quality of Life Changes: Making Survival Smoother

The 1.04 update introduces several player-requested adjustments that streamline everyday survival tasks:

Broom now repairable – Previously disposable, brooms can now be maintained, saving resources over time.
Skill magazines stack to 5 – Inventory management improves significantly as skill magazines no longer clutter individual slots.
Adjusted quest reward ammo values – Various quests now provide more balanced ammunition quantities.
Improvised fridge stacking added – Items inside player-crafted fridges can now stack properly, increasing storage efficiency.
Quarter wall upgrades – Player-crafted quarter walls now have upgrade options, enhancing base fortification.
Grenade launcher ammo removed from Apple Pie quest – Prevents early-game explosive surplus.
Mara’s quest now rewards fire arrows – Replaces previous crossbow bolt reward, adding tactical variety.
Search for Marty quest rewards funnel and hose – Essential for siphoning fuel, this change makes vehicle maintenance more accessible.
Horde Mode Wave Survival – Crawler zeeks no longer spawn, reducing frustration in this scenario.
Horse use underwater removed – Both player and horse now take drowning damage when submerged, adding realism.
Alarm clock USE function removed – Prevents accidentally consuming the item needed for the “Bell Ringer” challenge.
Duplicate vehicle mods no longer allowed – Adding multiples of the same mod never stacked benefits, so the option has been removed.
Increased render distance for player-built structures – In PvP, buildings now load from farther away, reducing deaths from invisible structures.
Horde Mode zeek pathing fixed – Enemies no longer get stuck outside map boundaries.
Mushroom icon added to HUD – When your graphics turn cartoony from eating mushrooms, a clear icon explains why.
Cooking station icons updated – Canned food now shows opened cans instead of sealed ones, improving visual clarity.
Sniper scope quest reward durability increased – From 50% to 100% quality, making the reward immediately useful.
Horse crash damage added – Players now take damage when riding into walls or objects.
Black clothing color improved – No longer appears tinted brown.
Camo clothing brightness adjusted – Darker camo patterns are now more visually distinct.
House generator fuel rates extended – Generators last longer before needing refueling.
Trowel spawn chance increased – More locations and higher drop rates for this essential gardening tool.
Jack usage height reduced by 50% – Prevents exploits and unrealistic vehicle lifts.

Performance Fixes: Stability and Anti-Cheat

The development team has addressed several performance and security issues:

AI Event settings for private servers – Now functioning correctly, allowing server owners proper control.
Various cheating and exploiting issues fixed – Multiple vulnerabilities have been closed.
Horde Mode Extraction Scenario airdrops – Fixed to work as intended.
Gun store and liquor store loot respawners – No longer functioning incorrectly.
Nightmare achievements fixed – Note: Not retroactive; players must re-earn them.
Admin panel item spawning – Fixed issue where incorrect items would spawn.
Swamp Scenario time – No longer changes unexpectedly.
Crafted structures/benches decay – Fixed reported issues with structures not decaying properly.
Day calculation and saving – Fixed an issue with incorrect day tracking.
Mead crafting crash – No longer crashes the game or steals materials.
/unstuck command – No longer allows players to move on the water floor.
Controller navigation in Graphics settings – Fixed scrolling issues.
Controller CANCEL button in exit menu – No longer loses functionality.
PAUSE + SHARE button combination – Now brings up the overlay dashboard instead of locking controls.

Audio & Visual Fixes: Polishing the Experience

A wide range of visual and audio corrections improve immersion:

Reported map issues fixed – Various terrain and navigation problems resolved.
Bread eating animation added – Finally, bread has a proper consumption animation.
Typographical errors corrected – Multiple text fixes across the game.
Log storage replication issue fixed – Multiplayer sync improved.
Weapons mesh replication fixed – Weapon models now display correctly in multiplayer.
Character preview issues resolved – Various display problems in menus.
Highlighting issues on reported items fixed – Item highlights now function correctly.
Clothing hood toggles fixed – Hoods can now be raised or lowered as intended.
UI scaling in textboxes fixed – Text no longer cuts off in reported areas.
Survival Guide UI scaling on Steam Deck – Fixed for handheld play.
Day/night cycle exiting bunkers – Fixed lighting transition issues.
Bald characters in loading menu – No longer appear incorrectly.
Character creator hair rendering – Fixed grey-rendering hair issue.
Dark complexion characters – No longer appearing white.
Armor and vest clipping – No longer clip into thicker clothing.
Crafted spears – No longer poke through vehicle roofs.
.22 rifle hand placement – Fixed when in crouched position.
Low-res character models in loading menu – Improved rendering.
Vehicle armor and tire selling – Fixed visual bug when selling to traders.
Police hat zeek – Fixed one zombie with a hat stuck to his feet.
NVGs in bunkers – Now work without requiring a flashlight.
Map and inventory while mounted on horse – Fixed UI issue.
PLACE function clothing rendering – No longer displays unrendered formats.
Stone Campfire and Log Storage snow decal – No longer appears when built indoors.
Flamethrower refill value display – Fixed incorrect value when refilling and putting away.
Vehicle storage UI scaling – Fixed inventory row access when changing UI scaling.
Resourceful UI half-integer values – Fixed display of required items.
Weapons rack visibility – Guns no longer seen from first floor when rack is on upper floors.

Animals, Bandits, Zeeks, and NPCs: AI & Companion Fixes

Significant improvements to creature and NPC behavior:

Horse dismount weapon animation – Players no longer get stuck in holding weapon animation.
Horse despawning fixed – Horses no longer disappear when entering bunkers, leaving render distance, or dying.
Doc rescue fixed – Doc now shows up on servers and hosted multiplayer sessions.
Zombie floor visibility – Zeeks no longer visible on second floor when player is on first floor.
Item loss on horse mount/dismount – Fixed issue where players would lose all items.
Reloading while mounted on horse – Players no longer get stuck in the animation.
Dog companion bunker behavior – Dog no longer follows into bunkers when placed in dog house.
Invisible zeeks – Fixed issue where zeeks would turn invisible when moving between building levels.
Dog and horse find commands on servers – Fixed exploit allowing players to use these commands.
Horse disappearance on server boot – Fixed issue.
NPC aggro persistence – NPCs no longer stay aggressive toward dead enemies or animals.
Zeek bite animation – Fixed from triggering when the zeek dies.
Zeek bag stuck animation – Fixed getting stuck when zeek bag disappears.
Trader empty inventory – Fixed traders occasionally rolling empty stock.
Dan’s escort mission – Fixed various issues with this questline.

Inventory & Crafting Fixes: Economy and Item Integrity

Critical corrections to item handling and crafting systems:

Stackable item emptying – Emptying a stackable item no longer deletes the entire stack.
Sweetcorn planting fixed – Corn crops now behave correctly.
Crop plot seed addition – Fixed issue where adding extra seeds wouldn’t yield full harvest.
Canteen issues fixed – Multiple problems with water containers resolved.
Backpack-less item pickup – Items no longer delete themselves when picked up from vicinity without a backpack.
Orange crate respawning – Fixed loot respawn issue.
Hacking device – No longer works on player doors.
Weapon/item deletion issues – Multiple causes of disappearing items fixed.
Fireplace item deletion – Items no longer disappear when leaving render distance and returning.
Improvised fridge issues – Multiple fixes applied.
Food item vicinity consumption – Consuming 10% of a food item from vicinity no longer duplicates the item.
Watchtower damage – Fixed watchtowers not taking damage correctly.
Deep Pockets skill item loss – Items no longer disappear when dying with this skill.
Hammer bypass exploit – Fixed issue allowing building without a hammer.
Composter and farming plots – Now accept full dirty water bottles.
Water barrel – Now accepts dirty water as intended.
Barbed wire wall upgrade – Ouchie boxes now cause damage appropriately.

Vehicle Fixes: Fuel, Mods, and Refueling

APC refueling in multiplayer – Fixed sync issue.
Refueling pocket item deletion – Fixed issue where first item in pockets would be deleted or moved to backpack.
CTRL+LClick vehicle mods – Fixed disappearing mods.
Outdated fuel can items removed – Prevents quest-spawned obsolete items causing fueling issues.

Quests & Skills: Reward Integrity and Perk Fixes

Quest reward stacking – Unstackable items (e.g., 3 boxes of nails) now give appropriate numbers.
Famine and Drought skills – Fixed reduction of food/hydration values.
Resilient skill – No longer reverts to 100 health when sleeping.

HumanitZ 1.04 Update – Brief Review

Verdict: A solid, much-needed bug-fixing patch that prioritizes stability over new content.

The Good ✅

Over 100+ fixes across performance, inventory, AI, visuals, and vehicles
Genuine QoL improvements: brooms can be repaired, skill magazines stack, fridges stack items, horse crash damage adds realism
Controller fixes (scrolling, cancel button, key combos) greatly improve Steam Deck and gamepad experience
Anti-cheat measures: Family Sharing can now be disabled by server owners; official servers require unique accounts
No more horse underwater exploits – drowning damage applies to both
Inventory integrity: stack deletion, duplicate items, and Deep Pockets death-loss issues resolved
Audio-visual polish: bread eating animation, NVGs working in bunkers, hood toggles fixed

The Bad ❌

Not retroactive: Nightmare achievements must be re-earned
Structural Support System delayed – skybase exploiters face bans, but feature arrives next patch
Full wipe on official servers – necessary but painful for established players
Mods still unsupported – use at your own risk; no tickets accepted if mods are active

The Ugly ⚠️

Banned players using Family Sharing to bypass restrictions forced this change – community trust issues remain
Memory leaks and other deeper issues not fully addressed yet (team acknowledges more fixes coming)

Final Score: 7.5/10

“Not a content drop, but a essential cleanup patch that makes HumanitZ more stable, fair, and playable – especially for server owners and controller users. Wait for 1.1 if you want new features, but install 1.04 if you value your save files and sanity.”

Recommended for: Dedicated server hosts, PvP players, Steam Deck users, anyone frustrated by item deletion or horse bugs.
Skip for now if: You only care about new content – 1.1 is the one to watch.