Last Days 0.2.1 Beta — Mutants, Close Quarters & Better Driving

The laboratory has become a much less welcoming place. New mutants, a usable riot shield, a BMW E39-inspired sedan and reworked vehicle handling arrive in this Minecraft 1.20.1 beta.

New threats

Eleven mutant types join Last Days: Brute, Stalker, Screamer, Spitter, Bloated, Devourer, Corpse Worm, Colossus, Riot Zombie, Hive and Scavenger Crow. They bring their own models, textures, emissive details and 93 animation clips. Encounters include grabs, acid, gas, shields and weak points. Their mechanics and encounter balance remain experimental. GeckoLib is required on both client and server. Install GeckoLib 4.4.9 for Minecraft 1.20.1, matching your loader: the Forge build for Forge or historical NeoForge 47.1.106, and the Fabric build for Fabric. The declared dependency range is >=4.4.9 and <5.0.0. Fabric also requires Fabric API.

A shield you can take with you

The riot shield is now a usable item with durability, blocking, repair and its own held and inventory models. Intact shields can drop from riot zombies with their remaining condition, and shields can appear in newly generated police loot. Existing loot containers are not rewritten. Pistol-and-shield handling and mirrored pistol rendering have also been corrected.

A new car and better control

• A four-seat BMW E39-inspired sedan joins the UAZ. New garage and fuel-station vehicle assignments can select it, including eligible unvisited bays in existing worlds. Saved cars retain their model and ownership.
• BMW defaults to rear-wheel drive; UAZ keeps all-wheel drive. Cargo, maintenance and independently damageable components are shared.
• More responsive input and progressive steering. S brakes before engaging reverse; Space is the handbrake. Grip, drive layout and missing wheels affect handling, with slides and counter-steering.
• Improved coasting, terrain following, wall contact and driver-camera movement. The UAZ is now left-hand drive.
• Smaller walking-collision surfaces around visible vehicle parts reduce invisible blocking at empty corners of rotated cars.

Helicopters, weapons and presentation

Combat helicopters have smoother movement, more purposeful attack runs, search/orbit behavior and better obstacle recovery. Rescue helicopter approach and departure handling have been improved.

Weapon controls now offer hold-to-aim or toggle-to-aim. This build also includes updated crosshair/spread feedback, weapon poses, shot lighting and night-vision rendering.

Installation

Minecraft Java 1.20.1 and Java 17. Choose one matching JAR:

• Forge 47.4.0
• Fabric Loader 0.16.9 + Fabric API 0.92.1+1.20.1
• Historical NeoForge 47.1.106 for Minecraft 1.20.1; modern NeoForge is not supported.

Replace the previous Last Days JAR. Server and clients need matching mod versions and the same loader. Back up your world before updating.

Beta status

All three 0.2.1 JARs were freshly compiled and passed loader metadata and packaging checks. Shared core, presentation and common checks passed. This remains an experimental beta: a complete campaign playthrough and every multiplayer/visual scenario are not certified. Mutant mechanics and encounter balance are still in development.

The three animated clips show actual gameplay from our laboratory recording.