Protect progress before troubleshooting
The current official known-issues list places partial-stack chest loss in the 1.007 fix group for most platforms, still pending on Switch 1 and 2. Leave room before a supply-line test. An earlier Demo issue report mentioned zombie unspent-skill resets and workbench overconsumption; those are not in the current list, so their full-release status is unconfirmed. Record the worker’s skills and use a small test craft.
Check the release fixes before rebuilding a line
The official Steam updates describe several different faults:
- 1.005, September 24: pending crafts now indicate insufficient worker skill and show craft-lock or waiting-for-delivery states correctly. Read that indicator before changing the worker or ingredients.
- 1.006, September 25: fixes cover kitchen workers consuming ingredients without a dish and an oven worker blocking the millstone. If your kitchen matches either symptom, check your installed update before sacrificing another batch.
- 1.007, September 28: a caretaker picking up inventory items could cause a crash. A crash at that action needs a version and log report; it is different from a worker waiting for supplies.
- 1.008, October 2: addresses a worker stuck at the firewood holder and farmers failing to produce.
- 1.009, October 6: addresses resource workers stuck after returning their load, quarry caretaker stalls, broken-harvest loops and freezing when assigning a worker after an invalid previous assignment. Match the station and the stage that stops before rebuilding.
These are developer fix claims, not this site's in-game tests or confirmation of every console rollout. If the matching update is installed and the problem remains, preserve the save and report the exact station and action. Continue with the requirement and supply checks below for ordinary stalls.
A helper does not restart a Kiln or Furnace?
The developer’s October 2 plans announcement describes helpers collecting completed resources and restarting Kilns and Furnaces, and farmers handling Peat and Compost Heap crafts, as upcoming changes. Neither the 1.008 nor 1.009 notes reviewed here announces those features as delivered. Do not use that future promise as a reason to rebuild a currently idle station; check later patch notes and your build’s controls first.
Why does the zombie stop?
| Symptom | Check at the existing station | What the result tells you |
|---|---|---|
| It never starts a job | Compare the worker’s displayed skill/mastery with the chosen job’s requirement. Check that the job is actually selected. | A visible unmet requirement is a more useful lead than rebuilding the whole line. |
| It finishes one craft, then stops | Check the remaining job quantity and materials. Inspect the worker’s skills even if it finished a craft that you started. | Finishing an existing craft does not prove the worker can start the next one. |
| It stops after several items | Look for the first changed condition: depleted input, completed queue, or a displayed output/storage warning. | Refill or change only the condition the UI actually identifies; then watch a complete cycle. |
| Everything appears ready but no progress resumes | Record the station, recipe, worker skills and platform/build. Preserve the PC log before a restart. | A reproducible stall with those details is ready for a support report, not proof of a particular power or conveyor rule. |
Check the worker, not just your character
In Demo discussions, AJ055 reports that zombies have their own mastery requirements; Mr_CreeperAG also describes jobs requiring worker skills. Open the worker interaction shown on your platform and compare its values with the job. A PC player reports using F, but controller mappings are not established here.
Mr_CreeperAG reports that a zombie could finish an already-started craft despite missing a level. Treat that as a possible explanation for “one craft and stop,” not a confirmed rule for every station. The report of a bronze axe helping with boards is not enough to recommend buying that tool for every stalled worker.
Check who supplies the workstation
A crafting zombie is not the whole supply line. In a Demo setup discussion, Brief-Commission-987 describes a zombie supplies station with one worker moving ingredients and finished goods between storage and benches, while another works at the furnace, sawhorse or workbench. Skaikrish independently points out the logistics station and delivery worker in the same discussion.
- Production: check the zombie assigned to the crafting job, its mastery, and the tool requirement shown by that job.
- Supply: check that the supplies station has its own assigned worker and that the required ingredients are in the storage it serves.
- Output: watch whether finished goods leave the bench and reach storage. Leave room in storage before testing.
If manually supplied ingredients allow a craft but replenishment never arrives, investigate the supply side before changing the recipe or moving the crafting worker. This is a diagnostic comparison, not proof that every stall has the same cause. These reports concern the Demo; they do not establish full-release transport ranges or rates.
Supply checks added September 22, 2026.
Run a small, interpretable test
- Keep the zombie at its current station. Note the job, remaining quantity, ingredients, skill and tool requirements, and any visible warning.
- Choose a job whose displayed requirements the worker meets. Use only the materials needed for a small test where possible.
- Watch one full craft and the delivery worker. Check which stage stops: ingredients arriving, the craft starting, or finished goods leaving. Then see whether a second craft begins.
- If it still stalls without an explanation, follow the log-preservation and reporting steps. Do not delete the save to test a theory.
The workshop screenshot shows progress bars and conveyors. It does not provide a universal adjacency, power, capacity or repeat-queue formula. Use the actual warning and requirement in your build.
Verification notes
- Official game page — zombie automation and developer workshop imagery.
- Demo player discussion — AJ055’s worker-mastery advice and reports of stalls.
- Demo impressions and worker-skill reports — Mr_CreeperAG’s observations; individual reports, not a full station specification.
Checked September 20, 2026. Official bugs and community observations are separated above; this is a diagnostic guide, not a tested production-rate calculator.