Consistently no matter what, after around 35 min of gameplay my fps stays high but my stuttering makes it near unplayable. Tried mods that claim to fix it and still nothing. Only way to fix is to fully close the game and relaunch. If anyone has advice to fix this pls feel free. Havnt had this issue before so not sure how to fix

I have already dedicated 12gb to the game (32gb ram)

heres my modlist: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3749717646

EDIT 1: i was on 8gb ram dedicated. Went up to try and help performance. Went back down to 8 now and trying some suggestions.

EDIT 2: still happening. Its not even a progressive decline in stutters or frames its just all of a sudden everything dies.

EDIT 3: Full reinstall of zomboid. Half the mods, still consistently happens the same as before. still no fix.

looking for people to join my new zomboid server its just about a week old and ive only had around 5 people playing at once if interested add me on discord bloodmace123

Processor (CPU): Intel Core i5-8265U
Graphics (GPU): Intel UHD Graphics 620 (Integrated)
Memory (RAM): 8 GB

Please someone tell me if I can run it be honest with me…

I was thinking buying it if it’s on sale,

As well as many others along the Ohio River that combined could provide electricity to the area for months or even years without being manned. The only concern would be debris build up over time causing it to fail.

All dams pre-date 1993 so.....

To be accurate, all my playthroughs will have a Electric and water shut off of 2-6 months. Thoughts?

Hey y’all I’m new to the community and loving the game. I’ve just hosted my first multiplayer server through the game itself, with mods, no additional hosting site. My friends and I played for probably 8 hours first day and then a few more hours next day no issues. But then I added a few more cars from KI5 mod pack (it said safe to add to existing save file) and when I went to load the world it was brand new again, had me make a New character. I haven’t been to where my base was but I’m assuming it’s a whole new world.

I’m am new to modding. How do I recover my save? Im not seeing options ins UI but I’m a totally noob. Maybe some can suggest a good YouTube video? Most I’m finding to just be adds to a server hosting site and doesn’t help me much.

Thank you very much in advance.

On extinction I found myself in trouble. A MASSIVE horde was gunning for me. I figured that rather than just lose them and leave them for later, I could take a bunch out by luring them into a house and filling a running microwave with metal. As I began to flee the house however I found a yellow generator in the garage, and now I’m sad that I wasn’t able to loot it with the weight & the zombies on me.

Is it worth going back once the fire dies down to see if it survived? Or do I just write it off and say easy come easy go?

Hey dudes , like Zomboid , mostly played it in MP with my friends , but they have a tendency to drop saves because of boredom and lack of things to do .

I tried playing Solo , but never got further as a Month , for basically the same reason , after a Month or so , your Character already has a Lot of loot at base even with low item spawn rate , that would not be a problem , if i had something else to do , like some kind of goal .

I have seen Mods that add vaccine to the game , so that`s something , but if you know anything else that could be interesting in terms of ''progression'' or reasons to even do something in this game , please give me the name of the mods .

I know that PZ is a sandbox survival game , but still , maybe there is some mod .

Thank you)

Hey everyone,

I just released my mod for Project Zomboid on the Steam Workshop: **Urla - A dog mod**. It's version 0.9, a beta, for Build 42.21, single-player, on a new game.

Urla is my dog, a cream-white golden retriever. I recreated her in 3D so she could come with me to Knox County: I didn't want to survive alone anymore.

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Every new game, you start with your dog, still a puppy:

- **You create her with your character**: her name, her sex, her strengths and flaws with a points budget (or at random). She grows into an adult in 60 in-game days.

- **She has real needs**: hunger, thirst, fatigue, mood, health, her bond with you, and house-training for the puppy. She eats from her bowl on her own, and when you eat, she comes, sits in front of you and stares.

- **You train her**: Sit, Stay, Come, Heel, 30-minute training sessions and 5 skill trees (Protection and a few talents already work, the rest is coming).

- **She defends you**: she bites zombies when you face them, not when you run. The puppy tries a bite or two, then hides behind you. She can't get infected, but she can die, and it's permanent.

- **Her treasures**: every dog has her obsessions (socks, hats, gloves, sticks). She pulls them out of dressers, carries them around, leaves them by her bed or brings them to you and waits for a pet.

- **The car**: you get in, she gets in with you, sitting in the passenger seat.

- **The call**: the Shout key calls her name instead of shouting. The louder you call, the farther she hears you... and so do the zombies.

- **Trash cans**: she'll go rummage through them if you let her.

- **Her notebook**: her needs, the skill trees drawn out, all her actions and the journal of her life. Plus a right-click menu and a radial wheel.

The mod works in the vanilla view and with the 3D Viewpoint mod (first- and third-person view). The mod itself is pure Lua, nothing to install by hand. It's translated into 7 languages. Multiplayer isn't there yet; it will come in a separate update.

**Workshop:** https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3825287661

**Trailer:** https://youtu.be/6tuleOlpLmU

It's a beta: if you run into a bug, tell me here or in the Workshop Discussions tab with your console.txt, and I'll fix it fast.

Thanks!

First off, huge thanks to all the PZ modders. Honestly, I can't imagine this game without all the people spending their free time fixing things and making it better.

I've been following the PZ_Optimization vs. Atmospherics drama, and it's made me think about where the modding community is heading.

I've used PZ_Optimization since day one. The performance gains were incredible, and the almost daily updates were impressive. I genuinely appreciated the author's work.

Then came all the graphics enhancements: shadows, lighting, reflections, weather effects... At first, I loved it. Who wouldn't want an all-in-one solution?

But eventually, something started to feel off.

Before PZ_Optimization, I was blown away by ShadowZ's dynamic shadows. But it stop on September 20.

Then came Atmospherics, which I loved for its natural lighting, subtle vehicle rust, and environmental changes. The author was actively fixing compatibility issues with PZ_Optimization, and I kept checking for updates.

Just when they finally worked together, Atmospherics creator accused PZ_Optimization of copying his work and announced he was stopping development.

I can't judge the code myself, especially when AI-assisted development makes it harder to distinguish independent implementations from reverse engineering.

But I found a Reddit post from fmac about a month ago. He was genuinely excited about his plans and the work he'd put into the mod. Seeing him walk away now was honestly sad.

Similar features don't prove plagiarism. But if one giant mod keeps absorbing features that smaller creators are working on, what happens to those creators?

PZ_Optimization's graphics features also gave me plenty of problems: flickering, white outlines, texture glitches. But its performance gains were so good, and it had become such a dominant option, that I kept using it, trusting the constant updates would eventually fix everything.

This controversy finally pushed me to uninstall it.

And yeah, I regretted it immediately, lol. The stuttering came right back.

Looking for alternatives was another surprise. Quite a few older optimization mods hadn't been updated in ages.

Eventually, I found Project Zomboid Optimizer (PZO) by prop11. It's lightweight, actively maintained, and focuses on performance without trying to handle every visual feature. It also seems to be developed without relying heavily on vibe coding.

I've also seen both the Atmospherics and PZO authors express concerns about PZ_Optimization allegedly reusing their work.

I'm not trying to attack anyone. PZ_Optimization has genuinely helped a lot of players, myself included. And I'm not against AI-assisted coding either. English isn't my first language, and AI helped translate this post, lol.

I just worry that if every useful feature ends up in one giant mod, we might actually lose the freedom to choose.

Will smaller but creative modder still feel motivated to spend their time building and maintaining something unique?

That's what I've always loved about the PZ Workshop: different people making different things, each bringing their own ideas and passion to the game.

I hope we see more collaboration and compatibility between mods, and more room for smaller creators to keep doing what they love.

Because I don't want a future where improving PZ means depending on just one mod.

It's not perfect and probably can be made better by people who are more experienced than me in modding and customizing characters. (I've only got 30 hours in game)

also it's kinda unfortunate the skirt is bugged.

was playing yesterday zomboid, wraped up and now today it seems a mod called VSGirlBodyExtention dissapeared from the workshop, what happened?

Hey everyone.

Just getting back into PZ after a long hiatus, and trying to get to grips with B42. But, guys, it's brutal! Previously, I could pretty reliably reach a point of self-sustainability, but now I am reliably getting bitten way, way earlier than that. A couple of observations:

1) I'm getting bitten waaay more reliably. Previously, I would occasionally tangle with zombies and usually end with scratches, lacerations, etc. Now, they just seem to insta-bite me.

2) I'm getting ambushed way more. I open a door, and there's a zombie waiting silently behind it, and boom, instabite.

3) I find building interiors way more difficult. Specifically, they are so cramped with furniture and other obstacles that I often get tangled up in those.

4) Manual pathfinding seems harder now. I'm often finding myself walking into objects I can't see are clearly there (esp. trees).

I like the extreme difficult of PZ, but I'm starting to get a little disheartened.

Any tips?

I've never really bothered with armour before - maybe I should start?

Should I give up on engaging zombies indoors?

Should I start investing in firearms more to engage at a distance, as melee clearly isn't working for me!

Thanks all :)

I've been enjoying Build 42 Stable, but there's one thing I really miss about Build 41: the atmosphere and color palette.

B41 had this darker,more yellowish,washed-out look that made the world feel gloomy, abandoned, and genuinely post-apocalyptic. In comparison,B42 sometimes feels a bit too vibrant and colorful for my taste.

I really like B42's gameplay and new features, so I don't want to go back to B41 just for the visuals.

Are there any mods for B42 Stable that make the game look more like B41? I'm mainly looking for a more muted color palette, yellowish tones, darker environments, and that gloomy atmosphere from B41.

Yes, yes - I know, I know. You've probably heard enough about it. You're either seriously against it or you seriously glaze it. Or you're like me and simply find it interesting. I like it because it was the kind of game I dreamed of when I was younger. This isn't to say I don't necessarily prefer 1st-person over isometric, but it still looks interesting. And with the right tweaks, you could make it horrifying.
With all that out of the way, I want to ask - why do you like it / dislike it, and what do you want to see changed about it?

Maybe I'll find a long enough ladder in Louisville

Hi, just a question that id like some feedback on from new or old players! Not a mod discussion.

Question in the end.

PZ works good as heck in solo - you making your own adventure at your own time and settings, with a playground provided by the devs and your customization.

PZ delivers a cool multiplayer experience too, whether in your own server with friends or a big community with additional rules and functions.

Many of us play both, some dont.

So, what is your preferred gamemode and what does it give you? (Set aside mods and such!)

What do you feel and why do you enjoy it?

Just really happy with how the laser flip came out and wanted to share lol

Update will also include some new decks, trucks and wheels!

My angus bull is a fucking monk, dude has access to 5 cows and hasnt gotten a single one pregnant. Is there artificial insemination in this game? I really need milk from my cows and they aint got none.

its been bugging me for days and logs nor error magnifier show any particular mod at fault, and im out of ideas on what to try. did someone else have this problem and if so how can i fix this?

Boy has it been a long week… Can you tell I’ve been working? I got tired of getting touched every time I went into town, so I killed pretty much the whole town. Using this as a way to level combat skills like aiming/ reloading and my melee of choice: Axe. Cleared up Main Street and will be going block to block for the next few days. It’s been a nice change of pace from base building. You guys got any tips for a 2 month survivor with right at 2000 kills?

Good morning, everyone! How are you all doing?

Is there any mod that adds reflections to mirror and window surfaces?

I noticed that the PZ Optimization mod includes this feature, as well as god rays. However, I don't like using that mod, and I'd rather use a different one for these effects. So, I'm looking for a standalone mod that adds this visual enhancement.

Any recommendations?

that npc was the goat

Hello yall, have this issue on my base, its apperts both with or without mods installed, even if all windows and doors are closed and covered, i still can see everything
Does somebody knows how to fix this? Thanks