How to create or connect to a server in Project Zomboid. Guide to the network game. How to play on the same screen and communicate in voice chat

 

Project Zomboid is a multiplayer survival horror game. Surviving together is much easier, so for a cooperative game, each user can independently connect to someone else's multiplayer server or invite friends to his own. In this guide, we will detail how to create a server and invite other players.

How to create a regular server to play with friends

To create a personal server for playing together with friends, you need to follow a few simple steps. First of all, start the game and follow the instructions for starting a server for a multiplayer game:

1. In the main menu, go to the "Custom Server" section.
2. Click on "Settings" and use the "Create New Settings" button.
3. In the "Enter a name for the new settings" item, type the desired name for the current server and click "Next" to confirm the action.
4. In the next window, the "Details" section will immediately open, where the user can configure the initial server settings. It is not recommended to change the "DefaultPort" value. In the "PublicName" section, the player can enter the name of the server. Also make sure that the marker is inactive in the “Public” item (there is no green checkmark), otherwise, the server may appear in the general list and other users will start connecting to the game.
5. If desired, configure various settings for the game world in other sections.
6. Click the Save and Back button to return to the initial server startup screen.
7. In the "RAM per server" section, set the value of the used RAM for server health. For a stable game, it is recommended to use 4 GB or more. The bigger, the better. Please note that for each player you need to allocate 200 MB. For example, to add 8 players, it is desirable to allocate 6 GB of RAM. If the computer does not have enough RAM, it is not recommended to select large values ​​​​and fully load the device. This can lead to various errors in the operation of the computer and the server.
8. Click the "Start" button in the lower right corner of the screen to load the server.
9. Wait a while and don't leave the open window.
10. After the server is fully loaded, the player will have the opportunity to choose a starting location and create a character, as in a single player game.
11. Complete all the steps and click "Play".
12. After loading the game world, press the "Esc" button to go to the menu.
13. Click on "Invite a friend", in the window that opens, select a friend and press the "Invite" button.

Please note that when creating such a server, you will not be able to connect to a friend's server on your own. Each time the host will have to invite all users manually.

How to connect to a shared server

In Project Zomboid, users are constantly creating new servers, so the player will have no difficulty in finding the right game. To connect to an open shared multi-user server, follow these steps:

1. Launch Project Zomboid and go to the "Network" section in the main menu.
2. Switch the tab to "Internet" and select the appropriate server as desired. To do this, click on it with the left mouse button.
3. In the "Name" section, enter the username, and in the "Password" line, type any set of characters. This will keep your nickname just for you. Just in case, do not forget to write down the indicated data somewhere.
4. Click the "Save" button if you want to remember the server and place it in the "Favorites" tab.
5. Click the "Join Server" button to connect to it.
6. Once the Server Workshop Files window opens, click the Install button to download the missing modifications.
7. After downloading all the files, select a spawn point, create a character, and click "Play" to enter the game.

Please note that the characters "PvP" may be indicated in the name or in the description of the server. This means that other players can fight each other in this game. The general list also displays information about each server and the modifications installed on it. For some of them, users have created open Discord servers.

Only Steam servers are displayed in the list. To connect to a LAN or WAN server, you will need to enter its data (name, IP, port, password) yourself. After entering the exact information, you need to save the server and start it from favorites.

Does the game have crossplay?

At the moment, the game was released only on PC, so it can only be played on Windows, Linux, and macOS. Perhaps in the future, the developers will release the game on other platforms, but now there is no information about this.

How to play on one screen

Project Zomboid has a split-screen feature that allows two players to play on the same device. To enable it, you must have a controller, such as an Xbox. Follow these steps to enable split-screen:

1. Launch the game and go to the "Single Player" section.
2. Follow the standard procedures for creating a character, choosing a starting location, and launching the game world.
3. Connect the controller and press the action key ("A" for Xbox, "X" for PlayStation, "B" for Nintendo).
4. A list of actions will appear in the upper right corner. Left-click on "Add Player".
5. Choose where the second player will spawn and create a new hero. If you select "Near player 1", then the second user will start the game next to the first.

From now on, the monitor screen will be divided into two parts. The first player will control the character with the keyboard and mouse, and the second with the controller. Do not forget to check the functionality of all gamepad keys in the game settings. To do this, press "Esc" and go to "Settings". Open the "Controller" section and use the various buttons to check the device. You can also adjust the sensitivity of the controller here.

In this mode, the game will project events on both players. If one of the characters wants to drink, then the second will have to do it. Also, after the death of the first host user, the game will be over.

How to use the global chat in multiplayer

After connecting to the server, the player can communicate with other users. To do this, press the "Enter" or "T" key (English layout) to open the chat window. Type "/all" without quotes, type the desired text, and press "Enter" to send a message to every user in the game world. If everything is done correctly, then the sent message will be displayed in orange in the chat window.

It should be noted that this feature may not be available on some servers, but in most cases, the general chat is enabled. Please note that you can send messages even after the death of the hero.

How to use voice chat. How to communicate with other players in multiplayer

The game has a full-fledged voice chat, with which players can communicate with each other in the game world. Follow these steps to enable this feature:

1. Start the game and in the main menu and go to the "Settings" section.
2. Open the "Audio" tab and in the "VOIP enabled" section, select "Yes" in the drop-down list.
3. In the "Select a microphone" section, click on the desired device with the microphone you are using.
4. In the "VOIP mode" item, set "Voice activation" to automatically turn on the microphone to talk with other players, or "Push button activation" to manually start the device.
5. Click the Apply button at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.
6. If you select the "Activation by button" mode, go to the "Control" tab and find the "Voice" section.
7. Set the desired microphone activation key in the “Voice transmission” item. The Left Alt button is selected by default.
8. Save the changes with the "Apply" button. From now on, the player will be able to communicate with other users on the server.