STEAMY’S SOLO / PLAYER GUIDE

Your world.
Your rules.

Everything you need for Steamy’s Solo, from the Workshop downloads to your first character.

BUILD 42.21.0YOUR WORLD · YOUR PACE

01 / BUILD YOUR PACK

Solo
downloads.

The singleplayer pack has its own compatibility item for native creation screens, custom origins, skills and traits.

Testing / work in progress. These downloads are available now. Read the release notes for verified changes and gameplay checks still pending.

  1. Match the game build

    In Steam, open Project Zomboid → Properties and use the current Stable branch matching 42.21.0. Confirm the version on the main menu, then close the game.

  2. Download Steamy’s Solo

    Open the Solo collection and choose Subscribe to all. Let Steam finish every download.

    Open the Solo collection
  3. Use the Solo compatibility item

    Steamy’s Solo Compatibility belongs with this collection. The Multi item is for the server’s different selection.

    Steamy’s Solo Compatibility

02 / WINDOWS INSTALLATION

The extra
installation.

Workshop subscriptions download these files. Their native components need a separate installation with the game closed.

Find your game folder first

In Steam, use Project Zomboid → Properties → Installed Files → Browse. Keep a copy of your launcher settings before changing them and preserve your chosen memory setting.

ZombieBuddy & I Can Sit There

  1. After the Workshop download, get ZombieBuddyInstaller.exe from the author’s GitHub releases.
  2. Choose Install or update and select your launch mode. “Both” also prepares Alternate Launch. Review the listed changes before applying.
  3. Enable ZombieBuddy and I Can Sit There in your Solo selection. Review the identified Java mod approval prompt on launch.
  4. Confirm the ZombieBuddy loaded indicator at the menu.

For a manual Normal Launch setup, the author uses ZombieBuddy.jar and zbNative.dll in the game folder with -agentlib:zbNative -- in Steam launch options. Avoid adding the same agent twice if the installer already configured it.

Author’s installation guide ZombieBuddy installer

PZ_Optimization

Open PowerShell and run the downloaded installer, replacing YOUR STEAM LIBRARY with your Steam library’s path:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "YOUR STEAM LIBRARY\steamapps\workshop\content\108600\3805285544\mods\PZ_Optimization\42\install.ps1"

The installer detects the game. Its -Dir "FULL GAME FOLDER" option selects another installation. This pack targets 42.21.0 / 4a0e9546ec; do not bypass a revision mismatch.

Use the same command with -Status to check the files. No extra Steam launch option is needed. After launching, look for active [pzopt] overrides in %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\console.txt.

Author’s instructions

03 / A LIFE OF YOUR OWN

Start
surviving.

Use your Solo selection for singleplayer worlds.

  1. Load your Solo selection

    In Mods, load the saved preset Steamy’s Solo. On our prepared installation it is the default. On a new installation, enable the items listed in the Solo collection and their dependencies, then save the selection under that name.

    A Workshop subscription does not create a named in-game preset by itself. If you subscribe to other packs too, do not enable every downloaded mod indiscriminately.

  2. Restart, then choose Solo

    Apply the selection and fully restart Project Zomboid from Steam. Choose Solo, your world settings, origin, profession and traits. The appearance screen uses the native 3D preview; a large pack can take time to load it.

  3. Keep your world’s mods together

    For an existing save, keep its required maps and mods enabled. Back up the save before changing its selection. A new-game preset does not replace an existing world’s own mod settings.

WHEN THE ROAD GETS ROUGH

Solo
field notes.

Help with your singleplayer setup.

Boats, comfort and everyday survival — Solo 0.3.11

The expanded selection adds boats and crab fishing, horses, Hug The Plushie, Curl Up, Real Vending, Cye’s Push Doors, trait magazines, Rain Cleans Blood, Take A Bath And Shower, Project Seasons, moving while equipping clothing, Repairable Windows, More On The Floor, Rebalanced Prop Moving, More Car Features, and Fitness Workout Overhaul with its equipment addon. Carriable Visual Items and Starlit Library provide required support.

Original author files remain unchanged. Our boat bridge prevents swimming effects while aboard and expires old boarding records. Automatic vehicle fuel pumps are disabled to preserve existing tanker refueling. Existing exercise equipment preferences remain in place.

Vanilla Vehicles Animated is omitted because its current engine/offscreen animation defect affects RV use. Light On Belt is also omitted after compatibility review. Requested mods already in the pack remain included. Horses may need newly visited areas; old-world ranch coverage is not guaranteed. One author-provided ranch zone has invalid coordinates and is rejected by the game; that location may not spawn horses. No replacement coordinate has been guessed.

Barricade The Door is enabled only in Solo. Use the saved Steamy’s Solo preset and its own collection. The new additions require Workshop files only; the separate existing Solo native-mod instructions still apply. Multi-only timing adapters do not run in Solo.

The saved Solo preset contains 346 Workshop items and 399 mod IDs. Prior Solo gameplay and Multi TV testing does not prove these new interactions; the new boats, horses, bathing and equipment still need player testing.

On a fresh Solo setup, enable Steamy’s Solo Compatibility, apply the selection and restart before using AutoSort so its ordering rules are loaded. Alternatively, import the prepared Steamy’s Solo preset. A Workshop subscription by itself does not create that named preset.

New Workshop additions: driving, documents, sheets and media

Let Me Drive!, It is of interest to me!, Fitted Sheets and Expanded Media are included in this selection. They add vehicle-control adjustments, readable documents, fitted window sheets, and extra TV shows and VHS tapes. True Cargo was already included.

Use the saved Steamy’s Solo preset and its collection. These four additions need only their Workshop files; follow the separate Solo requirements for existing native mods.

Expanded Media adds broadcast and recorded content. Availability follows that mod’s normal schedule and loot; installing it does not promise every show is airing now.

The compatibility addon includes Expanded Media’s three channels in the TV controls. Channels without a matching video show a neutral static picture; familiar supported video playback remains available. The new channel interactions have not yet been checked live.

In Let Me Drive! options, turn off Smooth on foot and leave Shed heavy per-frame work above at 0 (off). These are per-player settings; experimental callback shedding stays off.

Before uninstalling Fitted Sheets, take its fitted sheets off your windows. Otherwise invisible sheets may remain and still block sight.

TVRadio ReInvented: display settings and videos

Enable TVRadio ReInvented with your Solo selection. Its own videos need only the Workshop download; the separate installers for other Solo mods are unchanged.

The author recommends turning off Texture Compression and UI Offscreen Rendering in the game’s display options. Apply the settings and restart the game. These are your client settings; the server cannot set them for you.

On Build 42, video files load from the mod’s Workshop folder. Follow the current author instructions; old manual video-copy steps are unnecessary. Actual playback and controller or remote-control interactions in this pack remain unobserved; see the release notes for completed checks.

The appearance preview is blank

Allow the model assets to finish loading. The native preview has been observed to appear after a wait in this pack. If it stays blank or the game exits, save %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\console.txt before relaunching and share the relevant error in Discord’s help channel.

ZombieBuddy or a native mod did not load

Check the author’s installation steps and exact game revision. A Workshop subscription alone is insufficient for native files. Make sure an approval prompt is not waiting and the same agent has not been configured twice.

Startup is slow or the game closes

This large pack loads many maps and animations. Wait for activity to settle, close memory-heavy applications if needed, and check the latest log. More heap memory does not solve every crash; leave enough system memory for Windows.

Moving from Solo to Multi on the same PC

Close the game before switching. Solo’s separately installed native files remain even when its preset is inactive. Multi does not require ZombieBuddy, I Can Sit There or PZ_Optimization.

For a stock client launch, remove PZ_Optimization with its installer’s -Uninstall option, and remove ZombieBuddy using its installer or author’s uninstall guide, including its configured launch option. Unsubscribing alone does not undo a native installation. Any native files you retain must match the game build.

Then follow the Multi joining guide. Keep your Solo preset saved for your solo worlds.

FIELD UPDATES

What’s
changed.

Changes that apply to Solo, including shared compatibility fixes.

Loading release notes. You can also check the collection description or Discord’s changelog.

DON’T FACE IT ALONE

Find your people.

Community announcements, help with joining, and the people watching your back.

Need to get in touch? Email the team.

Join the Discord