How to Change Sandbox Settings on Your Project Zomboid Server
Sandbox settings control the core gameplay experience on your server, including how many zombies spawn, how often loot respawns, how fast players gain XP, and other world simulation variables. All of these are stored in servertest_SandboxVars.lua. Changes take effect after a server restart. See automatic restarts if you want the server to restart on a schedule.
Before you start: Stop your server before editing configuration files. Zombie population changes may require starting a new map to take full effect on already-populated tiles.
Edit sandbox variables
- Log in to the Game Control Panel and navigate to your Project Zomboid server.
- Stop your server.
- Click Configuration Files, locate
servertest_SandboxVars.lua, and click Text Editor. - Modify the variables you want to change. Key variables are listed below.
- Click Save and start your server.
Key sandbox variables
| Variable | Default | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Zombies | 3 | 1=Insane, 2=High, 3=Normal, 4=Low, 5=None |
Distribution | 1 | Loot distribution: 1=Urban Focused, 2=Even |
DayLength | 2 | Day length: 1=15 min, 2=30 min, up to 8=24 h real |
XpMultiplier | 1.0 | Global XP multiplier |
LootRespawn | 1 | 1=None, 2=Every Day, 3=Every Week, 4=Every Month |
HoursForLootRespawn | 0 | Hours before unlooted areas re-populate (0 uses LootRespawn preset) |
MaxItemsForLootRespawn | 4 | Max items in a container before respawn skips it |
StarterKit | false | Spawns players with a small starter inventory |
Nutrition | true | Track hunger nutritional content |
FoodRotSpeed | 2 | 1=Very Fast, 2=Normal, 3=Very Slow |
ZombieAttractionMultiplier | 1.0 | How loud the world is to zombies |
VehicleEasyUse | false | Lowers vehicle skill requirements |
Farming | 2 | Crop growth speed: 1=Very Fast to 5=Very Slow |
WaterShut | 2 | 0=Instant, 1=0-30 days, 2=0-2 months, 3=0-6 months, 4=0-1 year, 5=2-6 months, 6=6-12 months |
ElecShut | 2 | Same scale as WaterShut |
TimeSinceApo | 1 | 1=0 days since apocalypse, 2=Several weeks later, up to 8=1 year later |
Example presets
Easy mode:
Zombies = 4,
DayLength = 4,
XpMultiplier = 3.0,
LootRespawn = 2,
StarterKit = true,
FoodRotSpeed = 3,
Hardcore:
Zombies = 1,
DayLength = 1,
XpMultiplier = 0.5,
LootRespawn = 4,
FoodRotSpeed = 1,
ZombieAttractionMultiplier = 1.5,
WaterShut = 0,
ElecShut = 0,
Existing player progress and loot already in containers are not affected by these changes. Only respawns and new XP gains use the updated values.