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How to change water, power, weather and other world rules of your Project Zomboid server

Project ZomboidUpdated Oct 18, 20266 min read

The sandbox World group is about the place: when the water and the power go off, the weather and temperature, how fast nature takes over, how many houses are locked or alarmed, generators, crops and fish. It is not the same as the World group of Server Settings, which holds the save interval and fire rules.

Open the editor

  1. Open your server in the panel and click the Settings tab.
  2. In the list on the left, under Config files, click Sandbox Settings. The file name is shown at the top.
  3. If the list says No config files yet, start the server once. The game writes its sandbox file the first time it runs.
The Config files list on the Project Zomboid Settings page with Server Settings and Sandbox Settings

The editor only saves while the server is stopped. Stop the server, change the settings below, then click Save only or Save & start. The full steps are in How to change Project Zomboid sandbox settings in the panel. Headings such as World appear in capitals in the editor. The editor shows Build 42 files only: on a Build 41 server it opens with a message that the file is from a different build, see Project Zomboid Sandbox Settings says the file is from a different build.

Every setting in World

SettingWhat it doesValuesA new server starts with
Water shutoffHow long after the default start date (July 9, 1993) that plumbing fixtures (eg. sinks) stop being infinite sources of water.Instant, 0 - 30 Days, 0 - 2 Months and more, up to Disabled (9 choices)0 - 30 Days
Water shutoff (exact days)Water shutoff as an exact number of days after the default start date (July 9, 1993).A whole number from -1 to 214748364714
Power shutoffHow long after the default start date (July 9, 1993) that the world's electricity turns off for good.Instant, 14 - 30 Days, 14 Days - 2 Months and more, up to Disabled (9 choices)14 - 30 Days
Power shutoff (exact days)Power shutoff as an exact number of days after the default start date (July 9, 1993).A whole number from -1 to 214748364714
TemperatureThe global temperature.Very Cold, Cold, Normal, Hot, Very HotNormal
RainHow often it rains.Very Dry, Dry, Normal, Rainy, Very RainyNormal
WeatherWhether weather changes or remains at a single state.Normal, No Weather, Endless Rain, Endless Storm, Endless Snow, Endless BlizzardNormal
FogWhether fog occurs naturally, never occurs, or is always present.Normal, No Fog, Endless FogNormal
Overgrowth speedNumber of days until the erosion system (which adds vines, long grass, new trees etc. to the world) will reach 100% growth.Very Fast (20 Days), Fast (50 Days), Normal (100 Days), Slow (200 Days), Very Slow (500 Days)Slow (200 Days)
Helicopter eventHow regularly a helicopter passes over the Event Zone.Never, Once, Sometimes, OftenOnce
Distant noise eventsHow often zombie-attracting metagame events like distant gunshots will occur.Never, Sometimes, OftenSometimes
Sleep eventsHow often events during the player's sleep, like nightmares, occur.Never, Sometimes, OftenNever
House alarmsHow likely the player is to activate a house alarm when breaking into a new house.Never, Extremely Rare, Rare, Sometimes, Often, Very OftenSometimes
Locked housesHow frequently the doors of homes and buildings will be locked when discovered.Never, Extremely Rare, Rare, Sometimes, Often, Very OftenVery Often
Night darknessThe level of ambient lighting at night.Pitch Black, Dark, Normal, BrightNormal
Fire spreadsIf fires spread when started.On or offOn
Generators on the mapThe chance of electrical generators spawning on the map.None (not recommended), Insanely Rare, Extremely Rare, Rare, Normal, Common, AbundantRare
Generator fuel useHow much fuel is consumed by generators per in-game hour.A number from 0 to 1000.1
Crop growth speedThe speed of plant growth.A number from 0.1 to 1001.0
Crop yieldThe abundance of harvested crops.A number from 0.1 to 101.0
ForagingThe abundance of items found in Foraging mode.Very Poor, Poor, Normal, Abundant, Very AbundantNormal
FishThe abundance of fish in rivers and lakes.Very Poor, Poor, Normal, Abundant, Very AbundantPoor
BasementsHow frequently basements spawn at random locations.Never, Extremely Rare, Rare, Sometimes, Often, Very Often, AlwaysSometimes

Water and power

Water shutoff and Power shutoff are measured from the game's default start date, July 9, 1993. Each one has a second setting, Water shutoff (exact days) and Power shutoff (exact days), that gives the shutoff as a number of days. The choices are the game's own, from instant to disabled. Change one at a time and read the game's description in the table.

Good to know

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