Survivor-Host Secrets: Tuning Project Zomboid Servers (B41 & 42)

1.1 Understanding the Core Server Files

When you first install a Project Zomboid dedicated server (or host via the game's Host menu), the game generates four main files that control the game world:

• servertest.ini – The primary server config (server name, ports, PvP on/off, passwords, etc.).
• servertest_SandboxVars.lua – The sandbox settings for the world (defines zombie behavior, loot spawns, environment settings).
• servertest_spawnpoints.lua – Defines spawn locations for new players (Rosewood, Muldraugh, West Point, etc.).
• servertest_spawnregions.lua – Groups spawnpoints into named regions that players see on join.

1.2 Using the In-Game Settings GUI (Recommended)

If you aren't comfortable editing text configs directly, Project Zomboid provides a handy GUI method:

1. Launch the game, go to Host > Manage Settings.
2. Click "Create New Settings" or edit an existing preset.
3. After tweaking, save the settings with a unique name (e.g. "MyCoopServer1").

This will save a <YourPresetName>_SandboxVars.lua and associated files in your Zomboid folder. Using the GUI ensures you don't miss an option or make a syntax error – plus it gives explanations for each setting on the screen.

1.3 Differences in Build 42 Setup

Build 42 doesn't drastically change how you configure the server, but it brings some quality-of-life improvements:

• An official mod manager UI in-game allows easier enabling/disabling of mods
• New features like animals or crafting stations may introduce additional sandbox settings
• Performance tweaks for longer-running servers and better data handling

2.1 The "Zombie Lore" Settings

"Zombie Lore" refers to the set of options that define what zombies are like in your world. In the server SandboxVars, these are grouped under ZombieLore = { ... }.

2.2 Population and Respawn

The Advanced Zombie Options determine the zombie population distribution across the map, how it grows over time, and if zombies respawn in cleared areas.

2.3 Special Events and Meta-Game Settings

Project Zomboid has a "Sadistic AI Director" that controls meta-events – like the Helicopter Event that attracts zombies from miles around.

• Helicopter: (Never / Sometimes / Often). Never for less chaos (common on PvE); Sometimes (default) is one event.
• Fire Spread (NoFire): true to disable fire spread (fire will still burn the one object but not jump).
• Time Pause (PauseEmpty): true = stop time when empty (good for private servers); false = world keeps ticking.

2.4 Build 42 Zombie & Combat Changes

Build 42 includes some combat rebalancing and possibly different default behaviors. The devs mentioned they "completely rebalanced the game" in terms of combat in early B42 testing.

In the above example, we've created a nightmare mode: sprinters that are weak but numerous and can respawn. This is just for illustration – adjust values to your taste.

3.1 Loot Rarity and Item Respawn

In sandbox settings, loot rarity can be set for different categories, typically: Food, Weapons, Other (Misc) and possibly specific ones like Medical or Survival Gear. For detailed loot location guides, see our gun store locations and hardware store guide.

3.2 World Decay, Item Cleanup, and Time Progression

The apocalypse isn't just about zombies and loot – the world itself changes over time. Important aspects:

• Erosion (Nature taking over): Controls how fast vines grow, grass cracks through roads, etc. Default is 100 days to full erosion.
• HoursForCorpseRemoval: After how many in-game hours should corpse bodies disappear. Setting this to a few days prevents mountains of corpses causing performance issues.
• HoursForWorldItemRemoval: This allows the server to periodically remove certain clutter items from the ground (like clothing from dead zombies).

3.4 Late-Game: Power, Water, and Generator Rules

In PZ, by default, within 0-30 days the power and water will shut off (randomly in that span). Multiplayer servers often configure this differently:

• Some set the shutoff to a narrow window (forcing players to scramble to set up generators early).
• Others extend it (e.g. 0-90 days) so that casual players have more time before the lights go out.
• Or even disable shutoff (power stays on indefinitely) for a more PvE creative style server.

4.1 Enabling or Disabling PvP

The most straightforward switch is in servertest.ini: PVP=true or false. This globally turns on or off the ability to hurt other players.

4.2 Factions – Friend or Foe Identifier

On PvP servers, factions become quite important. A faction in PZ is basically a group of players who have formally joined together via the game's interface. The benefits:

• You can see your faction members' names by default and on the player overlay map, even at a distance.
• You can (optionally) disable friendly fire within faction.
• Factions have a chat channel (if global chat is off, faction chat allows coordination).

4.3 Safehouses – Securing Your Base

Safehouses are closely related to PvP/PvE because they control territory and what other players can do in that territory:

• On a PvE server, safehouses are primarily to prevent accidental looting or messing up of someone's base.
• On a PvP server, safehouses provide a measure of offline protection (depending on settings).

For PvP servers, you have choices:

1. No Safehouses at all: pure DayZ style – bases can always be raided/destroyed.
2. Safehouses with Online-Only Protection: using DisableSafehouseWhenPlayerConnected, offline = safe, online = defend it.
3. Safehouses with Weak Protection: maybe allow trespass and fire, so attackers can find ways in even if it's "claimed".

5.1 Safehouses – Your Home in Knox County

A safehouse in PZ is a claimed building (or area) that grants certain protections and privileges to its owner and members.

How players claim a safehouse: By default, a player must be inside a building, right-click the floor and choose "Claim Safehouse". If successful, the house becomes theirs – the UI will show it under their Safehouse panel.

5.2 Safehouse Settings Recap

5.3 Factions – Strength in Numbers

While safehouses are about where you live, factions are about who you run with. In PZ, factions add a lot of social dynamic. For base building strategies, check our best base locations guide:

• A player can create a faction via the user panel – they choose a name and a 3-letter tag.
• Once in a faction, players can see each other's health status and location on the map.
• By default, faction members cannot hurt each other even if PvP is on.
• Faction members can also interact with each other's safehouses freely.

5.4 Community Stories: Examples of Safehouse & Faction Dynamics

6.1 Whitelisting and Account Management

In servertest.ini, Open=true means anyone can join without being pre-added to a whitelist. Open=false means you're running a closed server – you must manually add each player's username to the whitelist.

Account Names vs Character Names: The username they log in with is the one relevant to whitelist and server data. The character in game will have a first/last name (like John Doe) which can be anything and is not how the server tracks them.

6.2 Admin Commands and In-Game Tools

As admin, when you're in-game on your admin account, you have a few superpowers:

• Press Home key (by default) to open the Admin Panel with tabs for many functions.
• You can toggle invisibility and god mode on yourself (so you can observe or intervene without being chomped).
• The admin panel also has a Sandbox Options tab where you can live-adjust certain settings.
• Item spawn / creative mode: Admins can basically spawn any item from the list.

6.3 Remote Admin (RCON) and Discord Integration

Sometimes you can't be in-game but need to administrate. That's where RCON (Remote Console) comes in.

• Enable by setting RCONPort (pick a port like 27015) and RCONPassword to something secure.
• Then use an RCON client to connect. You'll get a console where you can type server commands.
• Build 42 is introducing a direct Discord integration feature that presumably allows the server to send messages to a Discord channel.

6.4 Common Issues and Troubleshooting

Even well-run servers hit snags. Here are a few frequent ones and how to handle them:

• Can't Connect / Stuck at "Connecting": This could be ports not open (check that 16261 and 16262+ are open for clients), or a version mismatch, or a mod mismatch.
• Lag/Desync Complaints: If multiple players get lag at times, check your CPU/RAM usage on host. If CPU is maxing out often, reduce zombies or player count.
• Server Crash: Usually you'd see an error in console/log. Could be a mod error (often a NullPointer or Lua error referencing a mod file).

6.5 Backups and Updates

Back up your server data regularly! Especially before adding new mods or when a big patch hits. Many server hosts offer daily backups – configure that if available.

7.1 Installing and Enabling Mods on a Server

Project Zomboid uses the Steam Workshop for most mods, which makes life easier:

1. Find the mod(s) you want on Steam Workshop and note both the Workshop ID (a number in the URL) and the Mod ID.
2. Subscribe to them on the server's Steam account or if using a hosted server, use the UI to add Workshop IDs.
3. In servertest.ini, set WorkshopItems=<list of Workshop IDs> and Mods=<list of Mod IDs>.

7.2 Popular Mods and Their Considerations

Some mods become so popular that many servers treat them as quasi-essential. Here are a few categories:

• Maps & Map Expansions: "Pitstop", "Raven Creek", "Fort Redstone", "Blackwood", etc. These add new towns or areas to the vanilla map.
• Weapons & Gear: "Brita's Weapon Pack" (very popular gun mod), "Swat Pack", etc. These can dramatically alter gameplay.
• Vehicles: "Filibuster Rhymes' Used Cars (FRUC)" – adds tons of vehicles. Great for variety, but again, memory and some performance overhead.
• UI/Quality of Life: "Authentic Z" (cosmetic clothing variety), "Better Sorting" (inventory categories), "Skill Recovery Journal" (recover XP after death).
• Admin/Utility Mods: "EasyConfigChucked" or "Server Tweaker" – allow changing settings via in-game UI by admins.

7.3 The Cost of Mods – Performance and Administration

As mentioned, more mods generally means:

• More assets to load (players with slower PCs or limited bandwidth might struggle).
• More things that can go wrong (each update is a potential new bug).
• More memory usage on server (especially maps and item-heavy mods).
• Possibly more save file size – every new item placed in the world adds to save data.

You also need to ensure all players have the mods. If someone is not very tech-savvy, explaining how to subscribe to the workshop or troubleshoot mod download issues can be part of admin duty.

7.4 Vanilla Server Merits

It's worth noting that vanilla (no mods) servers have their perks:

• Max stability – only base game bugs to worry about, which are relatively few in stable branch.
• Easy for new players – no downloads, no learning mod content.
• Immediate updates – when game updates, you can update immediately with no mod compatibility wait.
• Leaderboards – some community hubs track stats for vanilla servers but ignore modded ones for fairness.

7.5 Managing Mod Updates and Community Expectations

Be open with your players about your mod strategy:

• If you plan frequent additions, maybe have a #suggest-mods channel on Discord where players can recommend or vote for mods.
• If you plan to keep it static, let them know (some prefer stability over new content mid-playthrough).
• After Wipes or Resets: Often a good time to add or remove mods is during a server wipe.

8.1 Server Hardware and Slots – Knowing Your Limits

Official Requirements:

• CPU: Aim for high single-core performance. A 3+ GHz modern CPU core is recommended.
• RAM: For Build 41, 2–3 GB was enough for a small server (up to ~8 players). But with lots of mods or a full 32 players, you'll want 6–8 GB or more.
• Storage: PZ save files aren't huge (maybe a few hundred MB to a couple GB over long term).
• Bandwidth: PZ isn't extremely heavy per player – maybe on the order of tens of KB/s per player under normal conditions, spiking higher if they move fast.

8.2 Monitoring Performance and Logs

Keep an eye on:

• Server console: It prints useful info like players connecting, errors, and periodic stats.
• Logs/ directory: especially console.txt (server log) and chat.txt (if enabled local chats logging).
• Memory usage: On Windows, you can watch the java process memory. If creeping high, might be a leak – restart the server daily.
• CPU usage: If consistently 100% on one core, that's a sign you're at capacity.

8.3 Network and Latency: Fine-tuning

Project Zomboid allows both direct IP join and Steam-based join. Steam networking can handle NAT punch-through often even if you didn't forward ports – but it's not foolproof.

• Ping: If someone says they have lag, find out if it's FPS lag or network lag.
• Some server hosts have a "high performance" option (like using faster CPU or allocating one server per machine vs many VMs).
• Mods and network: A poorly coded mod can spam network or logs and cause performance issues.

8.4 Maintenance and Wipes

We discussed backups and resets – it's part of performance in the long run:

• If your world has been running for 6+ months real-time, the map might be very looted and cluttered. You might plan a "Season 2" wipe to refresh interest and performance.
• Let players know how long a season will roughly last if you can estimate.
• Use down times to do database cleanup – e.g., the players.db file in your save holds all player characters (even the dead ones unless pruned).

8.5 The Human Factor – Keeping Players Happy

A smooth server is not just about code, but how responsive you are:

• If players report lag, acknowledge it and say you'll investigate – even that helps them be patient.
• Post announcements if you need to reboot ("Server restart in 5 minutes for maintenance").
• Provide avenues for players to report performance issues, like a Discord channel.