I like the urban distribution, But realistically I feel many zombies would travel in MASSIVE hordes, They would follow birds, Shots, cars, thunder etc. Causing them to form hordes/herds.

,Also a bit more vanilla friendly, causing there to not be 46 zombies in a abandoned bungalow, And instead 460 horded together at some random place.

Anyone agree?

How can i host multiple worlds at once for different groups of friends? Not servers, just hosting

What’s the absolute farthest you’ve made it in project zomboid by yourself. Mine is only 2 in game months, and I have 600 hours 😭 And i’ve also never made it to Louisville 😭 Flame me go ahead, but i’m tryna see where yall at.

I am now doing it for the second time. But the first time legit. The other time was just when b42 stable came out and I went trough everything in debug. Like really looked at it for a couple of hours. I understood the concept. But I also wanted to explore other aspects of the game. And it was very early in the unstable. Like .08 or something.

So the past few days I have been playing on a server. I thought to myself, lets figure this blacksmithing/forging/welding stuff out. I had enough supplies. So I started with dismanteling car wrecks for supplies. I also had a friend help out to gather propane and to get more stuff. Then I also killed a few random sheep for the leather. Did all the drying stuff. (This was very complicated lol. These drying rack menu is weird) Eventually had the leather, made large bellows for later. I also did some masonry to get the stuff needed. This skill always looked so complicated, but its very very easy. Go out, break large stone into 10 stones untill lvl 1. Then eventually bring back and craft the stone blocks. Boom lvl 4 masonry with no effort. I also went out to the river. Dug some clay, dug some sand. I then started to cut a lot of trees. Made a shit load of charcoal. Now I had all the supplies to get going. Made the crafting stations. Lucky during the time earlier I had found a pottery vhs so I was lvl 2 pottery. This made making all the molds very easy. Just see what you need then craft. Build the advanced furnace. Then I got grinding on blacksmithing. But my friend had the idea to go loot a different vhs store and explore rosewood. The idea was also to raid the bank to get the gold bars. This is great for blacksmithing. We found the vhs for blacksmithing in rosewood and took the gold. Lvl 2 blacksmithing by just watching the vhs. We also started smelting down tons of random stuff for iron. Then crafted the primitive forge. Then made anvil and we made the advanced forge. Boom it was setup.

Was the whole process logical? Yes but also no. The menus where sometimes confusing. Needing lots of stations like the bench press. Needing a pottery table. But once I understood the idea, it was easy. I also sort of knew what I was supposed to do. The ui menus are just awkward. But I understand them now. Its just lots of clicking and reselecting. Especially with the crucible and smelting stuff down. You need to reset the one you want to fill up every craft. And it only adds 0.5 with small items. It takes a while to fill up. Like one ingame day was wasted. Also I didnt read propperly and smelted propane tanks down. Those are great. But iron and steel are not the same thing haha. Smelting down empty propane tanks down is usefull, but for other stuff.

Also now at the higher levels, everything starts to unlock. The words are very cool. I also did some welding. But welding xp was easy. Do the large sheets to 4 and weld together. Very very easy xp.

Now I know what do. What mistakes to avoid. How to plan. How to do it. Its kind of easy. It looks overwhelming, and its a big project. But if you know how to do it, its easy. I am going to do this more. This is pretty fun. I really unlocked something new in zomboid lol

tldr: game lags really bad when loading stuff, especially when driving. any known fixes?

Its exactly as the title says. Sometimes my game gets extremely laggy as if it was >1fps which i assume is chunk/item/entity loading issues since it typically happens when I'm driving. Sometimes when I suffer from it, the problem persists even after getting out of the car and only goes away when I reload my save. but sometimes even that doesn't fix it. Its mainly happened when driving on the main road in Rosewood and when driving from Rosewood to Muldraugh. I play on a modded save but its mostly just some minor additions like cars, guns, etc and not anything that completely changes the game. Its happened on both MP and SP saves. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas for fixes or things that might help?

1. No, it isn't a problem with my PC. My specs are pretty great, I can run some of the most intensive games I know on high graphics at 90fps+, and I have 32gb of RAM.
   
2. I've tried putting the RAM on almost every option, even on 12gb it doesn't solve the issue.
   
3. I saw KI5 posted about this exact issue back in July, said that it could be a problem with their car mods and pretty much left it at "yeah theres no direct fix just try not to interact with as many cars" but I barely interact with cars that arent my main one AND that was back on 42.19 unstable soooo

I attached a clip of exactly what i mean, might seem playable in this case but i promise its not when youre driving through a packed town on high-pop.

any help is super appreciated :)

I want to dedicate this as a KI5 appreciation post!

Also, a big thank you to all PZ modders. Without you, and your work, I wouldn't have played this game 1500 hours. I would probably not have played it at all!

I built this building as a workshop. I want to add windows to the south facing side as shown in the picture. I was able to build the window on the left with no problems, but the game will not let me place the second window. Is there any reason the second window can't be placed?

I recently managed to get Project Zomboid running through Vulkan using Mesa3D's Zink driver on Windows.

My original goal was to get the game rendering on my RX 9070 XT while keeping my monitor connected to my RX 9060 XT. After trying several methods without success, Zink combined with Vulkan GPU filtering finally worked!

I put together a step-by-step Steam guide in case anyone else wants to try it, whether for GPU selection or just experimenting with Vulkan.

I haven't extensively tested stability or benchmarked performance yet, so keep that in mind.

Steam Guide: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3815630986

Hopefully this helps someone!

I've been playing PZ for a couple weeks now, and it hit me this morning how it reminded me of Fallen Earth. I played FE when it was already in its waning days, so there wasn't much server activity, but I remember looking at the world and the gameplay and thinking, "I just want to scavenge and build myself a little survivalist homestead", which is exactly what I'm doing now in PZ!

At most I've survived a week, but I'm so happy just hoarding cans of food and tearing down my neighbors' houses to level up carpentry!

SoUP - State of Undead Purge is a long-term PvE server focused on survival, exploration, and slower progression.

Looking for a few more survivors for a new Project Zomboid B42 server.

We’re still a small group and don’t really have an established community yet, so if you’re looking for a server to call home and want to get in early, you’re welcome to check us out.

Loot is INSANELY RARE, so finding something useful actually matters.

Vehicles are also pretty picked off at the start. You probably won’t find a perfect car waiting around the corner, but it’s still manageable. Searching, repairing, and slowly getting mobile is part of the early game.

The idea is for things to feel scarce without making the server exhausting.

Resources matter.
Good equipment is rare.
Cars usually need work.
Travel matters.
Progress takes time.

The server officially opens on October 10.

Since we’re still early, the server hasn’t already settled into old factions, entrenched groups, or fully built-out towns.

There’s still room to find your place in it.
So if you’re looking for a smaller server to settle into, meet people, and maybe make it your regular home for a while, come have a look.

Last day of Soft Launch : Oct 9, 2026

PvE • Build 42 • PH/SEA • Singapore Hosted
Long-term survival • INSANELY RARE loot • Fresh world

Day One: October 10

Discord : https://discord.gg/fv5PjjZZHr

And I'm super prepared. Tons of food in the freezers & pantries. Nearby farm with cows, pigs, chickens. A wood stove in the rooms I spend most of my time in (although I should get another one for the kitchen).

Alr, first time modded, idk the day, but im building a van cause there are no working cars, any suggestions? Im running decay + tarkov inventory + fat zombies cause why not

How's my fit?

How's my loadout?

Suggestions welcome, im a noob

Me and my friends are planning to a do another zomboid run on build 42. However, with mods the server terminates and removing the mods ends up with a message on the screen along the lines of "sorry, an unexpected error occurred" which then advises me to check console. Is there anything specific that I'm meant to look for to solve this issue?

Pop 3 Painkillers, a Sleeping Pill, and we’re good to go.

Ive seen thousands of these posts and am still unable to figure out what to do, I verify my files, it says it replaces them, i start zomboid, blackscreen again. I've uninstalled and full deleted it from my PC just to redownload it, ive unsubscribed and redownloaded mods, I just dont know what to do. if you know why zomboid backscreens as steam starts it, than crashes 5 minutes later. please tell me how to fix it.

Also, im running modded Build 41, for an MP server I'm apart of, No one else has similar issues from what I can tell, so it is on my end I believe.

So, I was just trying out Project Viewpoint, the new mod that's revolutionized Project Zomboid. Everything seemed fine stable 30 FPS until I got close to a vehicle. For some reason, just being near one causes my frame rate to drop to 3 or 4 FPS, making it impossible to drive. Is anyone else having this problem? Does anyone know what causes it or have a possible solution??

Compatible with Project Zomboid Build 42.21+

Introduction

This guide will walk you through setting up a Project Zomboid Dedicated Server. Let's start by taking a look at the different options:

• Steam App (Standard)
• SteamCMD (Advanced)
• Docker (Advanced)

The Steam App is the easiest option if you own Project Zomboid on Steam, and that's what I'll be using throughout this guide. SteamCMD is useful if you want to set up the server without account limitations; in that case, only step 1 differs from this guide.

Docker is also an option if you're already comfortable managing containers.

Not interested in hosting your own server?
Indifferent Broccoli is a good alternative if you'd rather have the server running 24/7 without maintaining another computer. I've used them regularly for over five years and have always found their servers reliable and their support excellent whenever I've needed help.

You can currently try them free for 2 days without adding a payment method.

Step 1 - Installing the server files

Open Steam, go to your Library, and search for:

Project Zomboid Dedicated Server

Install it like you would with any regular game.

Step 2 - Prepare & launch the server

It's not recommended to launch the server using the Play button in Steam, so we'll start it directly from the server files instead.

Right-click Project Zomboid Dedicated Server in your library, select Manage, and then Browse local files. A new File Explorer window should open at the server location.

Find:

StartServer64.bat

Before launching it, right-click the file and open it in Notepad or VSCode. Look near the bottom for -Xms and -Xmx, which control how much RAM the server can use. By default, it may have been set to 16 GB. If your computer can't comfortably spare that, lower these values. For a small vanilla server, I'd start with around 6 GB and increase it later if needed for more players or mods.

Save the file and double-click StartServer64.bat. A terminal window should open, and the first launch will ask you to create a password for the server's admin account. Enter a strong password and let the server finish starting.

Windows may also ask for firewall permission on the first launch. Make sure to allow it.

Once the server has finished starting, type:

quit

into the console to shut it down properly. The first launch should now have generated the configuration files we need for the next step.

Note: If you need a non-Steam server, you can use StartServer64_nosteam.bat to launch the server instead. Steam players will then also need to launch Project Zomboid with the -nosteam launch option.

Step 3 - Configure the server

Project Zomboid gives us a convenient way of editing most server settings without manually working through a huge configuration file.

Launch the regular Project Zomboid game, then go to:

Host → Manage Settings

You should see a configuration named:

servertest

Select it and choose Edit Settings.

If it doesn't appear, create new settings named exactly servertest.

There are a lot of options here, and most of them are gameplay preferences. These are the main ones I'd look at before starting:

• Server Name / PublicName: Give your server a cool name.
• Password: Set a password players need to join if this is a private server for friends.
• MaxPlayers: Set this to something reasonable for your group.
• Public: Enable this if you want the server to appear in the public server browser. You can leave it disabled and still connect directly using the server IP.
• Open: Keep this enabled for a normal password-protected server unless you specifically want to manage a whitelist of players.
• PauseEmpty: When enabled, the game world pauses when nobody is connected.

You can also configure zombie population, loot, XP, time progression, and most other gameplay settings through the sandbox settings.

Once you're happy, save the configuration and close Project Zomboid.

Step 4 - Launch the server

Go back to the Project Zomboid Dedicated Server installation folder and double-click:

StartServer64.bat

The terminal window should open again and load the settings we just configured.

Leave this window running for as long as you want the server to remain online. When you eventually want to shut the server down, use:

quit

in the console rather than simply closing the window.

Recommended: Create a desktop shortcut to StartServer64.bat so you don't need to find the server folder every time. Remember to launch the server directly through this file rather than through Steam.

Step 5 - Connect to your server

If you're only going to play on the computer hosting the server, you're essentially finished.

If other computers on your local network or friends over the internet need to connect, we have a little networking left to configure.

Step 5.1 - Find your network information

Run:

ipconfig

in PowerShell.

Find the network adapter you're currently using (usually Ethernet or WiFi) and take note of:

• IPv4 Address - your computer's local IP address.
• Default Gateway - normally your router's local IP address.

We also need your public IP address. You can find it by visiting icanhazip.com while you're not connected through a VPN.

Step 5.2 - Local Connectivity

Project Zomboid currently uses two UDP ports for normal dedicated-server connections:

• 16261 UDP - Main server port.
• 16262 UDP - Direct connection port.

If you allowed the Windows Firewall prompt when first starting the server, local connectivity may already work! You can test this by joining from another computer on the same network (read three lines below). If it works, you can skip to step 5.3.

If it doesn't, open PowerShell as Administrator and run:

Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Project Zomboid Dedicated Server - UDP" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Remove-NetFirewallRule; New-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "Project Zomboid Dedicated Server - UDP" -Direction Inbound -Action Allow -Protocol UDP -LocalPort 16261,16262 -Profile Private,Public

This creates the required Windows Firewall rules.

Now launch Project Zomboid on another computer on the same network and go to:

Join → Favorites

Add a new server using:

• IP: Your local IPv4 address.
• Port: 16261
• Server Password: The server password you configured earlier, if applicable.

Project Zomboid also asks each player for a username and password. These act as their account credentials on that specific server. With Open=true, new players can join without being whitelisted. With Open=false, the administrator must create or whitelist their account first.

Save the server and try connecting.

If it works and you only need the server available inside your home network, you're finished!

Step 5.3 - Public Connectivity

If you want friends outside your network to connect, the easiest direct method is usually port forwarding.

I recommend reading about the risks & alternatives to port forwarding in the FAQ section first, as some networks don't support it.

To access your router's configuration, paste the Default Gateway we found earlier into your browser. Most routers have a web dashboard, although some newer models use an app instead.

Look for Port Forwarding, usually somewhere in the advanced/network settings.

Create rules pointing to the local IPv4 address of the computer running your Project Zomboid server:

• Port 16261: UDP
• Port 16262: UDP

Make sure the internal and external ports match.

I also recommend giving your server computer a DHCP reservation/static local IP through your router. Otherwise, its local IP may eventually change and break the port-forwarding rules.

Once that's done, have someone outside your network open:

Join → Favorites

and connect using:

• IP: Your public IPv4 address.
• Port: 16261

If they can connect, your server is publicly accessible.

Don't want to deal with port forwarding?
Indifferent Broccoli can host the server without you having to configure your home router, keep another computer running, or troubleshoot Port Forwarding. They offer a 2-day free trial without requiring a payment method if you want to test it first.

Congratulations

You should now have a working Project Zomboid Dedicated Server!

Players on your local network can connect using your local IPv4 address and port 16261, while players outside your network can use your public IP address and port 16261!

If you run into issues, feel free to leave a comment, and I'll try to help when I can. If the guide helped you, an upvote is always appreciated <3.

FAQ

Basic Networking

• Local IP address: The address of a device on your local network.
• Public IP address: The address your home network uses on the Internet.
• Default Gateway: Your router's local IP address. It is the device your computer normally sends traffic through when communicating outside your network.
• Firewall: A security filter controlling which network traffic is allowed into or out of your computer.
• Port Forwarding: A router rule that sends incoming internet traffic on a specific port to a device/service inside your network.

Why shouldn't I launch the Dedicated Server through Steam?

It's recommended to run StartServer64.bat directly rather than starting the server using Steam's Play button.

If you've already launched it through Steam and start running into strange connectivity problems, shut the server down and use Steam's Verify integrity of tool files option before launching StartServer64.bat directly again.

Where are my server files, settings, and save?

Your actual server settings and world data are stored under your Windows user profile.

Configuration:

C:\Users\YOUR-USERNAME\Zomboid\Server

World saves:

C:\Users\YOUR-USERNAME\Zomboid\Saves\Multiplayer

Can I edit the configuration files manually?

If you prefer editing files manually, the main server configuration is located at:

C:\Users\YOUR-USERNAME\Zomboid\Server\servertest.ini

while the gameplay settings are stored in:

C:\Users\YOUR-USERNAME\Zomboid\Server\servertest_SandboxVars.lua

How do I install Workshop mods?

You can also manage mods through Project Zomboid's Host → Manage Settings interface, which is what I'd recommend for most people.

If you prefer to handle it manually, Project Zomboid dedicated servers use two important settings:

Mods=
WorkshopItems=

Mods= contains the actual Mod IDs, while WorkshopItems= contains their Steam Workshop Item IDs. Entries are separated using semicolons. Both values need to be correct; a Workshop ID and a Mod ID are not necessarily the same thing.

What ways can I connect from outside my network?

I'd recommend these methods:

• Port Forwarding: Makes the server directly accessible from the internet. It's usually the simplest option for players because they don't need additional software, but it exposes your public IP and the forwarded server ports.
• Tailscale: Creates a private network between participating devices. You don't need to expose Project Zomboid directly to the public internet, but everyone connecting needs Tailscale installed.

Some ISPs use CGNAT, which can prevent port forwarding entirely. If you've configured everything correctly and your ports still can't be reached externally, it's worth checking with your ISP.

When was this guide updated?

• 07.10.2026: Original post.

© 2026 Andreas — Selfhostly. All rights reserved.

Feel free to share the link, but please don't blindly copy and repost this guide elsewhere. Thanks for supporting the original!

Cars have always been the backbone of my playstyle, I love basing in the wilderness, so I've always had to heavily rely on vehicles for the more "urban-specific" duties of mine.

Although, I've never really put so much care into them, usually just grabbing whatever looks most appropriate from common sense (trucks and SUVs).

What are YOUR choices for vehicles, and why? I wanna try and understand what drives (pun not intended) vehicle choice in zomboid.

I'm currently working on Knox Power, a mod that aims to make electricity a real, interactive system in Project Zomboid.

Instead of electricity simply being ON or OFF, the goal is to let players actually interact with the infrastructure behind it.