What makes it different

First person

Project Viewpoint: DayZ-style aiming and recoil, true ballistics, lean, prone and vault. HD floors, walls, cars, weapons and clothing, 3D trees, fences and props. Switch to third person or the classic top-down view any time (O).

A real city

Midtown Manhattan from OpenStreetMap data: the street grid, avenues and parks, a varied skyline topped by the 15-floor Empire State Building, working elevators, farmland and towns around it.

Deep survival

About 173 curated mods: overhauled weather and lighting, immersive effects, vehicles, rafts and swimming, loot and crafting depth.

PvP with rules

Safety toggle, factions, protected safehouses. 20 waystone beacons (with a teleport sound) mark PvP hot zones with supply drops.

Quality of life

/sethome and /home, fast travel between waystones you have found, 37 named spawn districts and towns, in-game rules panel and /help.

Fresh world

New world started Oct 16 evening (map 2.5.6); the old world is archived. Build 42.21, 24/7 hosting, backups every 6 hours, active admin, Discord support.

Oz Modpack 1.0: easiest setup

Subscribe to the collection (Subscribe to all), then paste the matching prompt into Claude: the first for Claude Code, the second for the Claude desktop app (needs computer use enabled). It checks your PC, waits for the downloads, adds the server and explains the first join. Oz Modpack 1.0 (Oct 17): Waystones 0.4.15, Server Pack 0.5.48, Fast Boot 1.4.31, Street 3D 1.1.20, HD City Tiles 1.1.10, Server Tweaks 1.2.25, NYC Facades 1.5.5, Division Shaders 0.1.15 (required) and OzNYC World 2.5.6; Unbound Shaders is optional.

Claude Code (terminal)

You are setting up my Windows PC to play on the Oz Server (Project Zomboid Build 42, first-person New York). Be imperative with me, do one step at a time, never change settings I did not ask for, never run installers silently, and never ask me to paste passwords into chat. There is no server password.
FACTS: server 208.75.182.159 port 28090 (name "Oz Server"). Modpack collection https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3819427155 (164 items, ~9 GB, "Oz Modpack 1.0"). Required game: Project Zomboid Build 42.21. Discord: https://discord.gg/v6JMDRYfX8
1. CHECK PC: confirm Windows 10/11, Steam installed and logged in, 25 GB free on the Steam drive (SSD strongly preferred), RAM and GPU. Minimum: 6-core CPU from 2019+, 16 GB RAM, 8 GB VRAM GPU, SSD (classic view ~30 fps, first person in Midtown will stutter). Recommended: 8-core, 32 GB RAM, 12 GB+ VRAM (RTX 3070/4070 or better), NVMe (50+ fps). Not supported: macOS, Intel Arc. With 16 GB RAM, also set a Windows pagefile of at least 16 GB on the SSD (Settings > System > About > Advanced system settings > Performance > Advanced > Virtual memory). Report what you find and wait for my OK.
2. GAME: make sure Project Zomboid is installed from Steam and is Build 42.21. Start it once to the main menu and read the version at the bottom. If it is not 42.21 (or is the old build 41), have me do Steam > right-click Project Zomboid > Properties > Betas and pick the "unstable" branch (42.x), let it update, and check the version again. Quit the game.
3. MODPACK: open steam://url/CommunityFilePage/3819427155 and tell me to click "Subscribe to all". Then watch Steam > Downloads until nothing is pending (9 GB, takes a while). Verify: %ProgramFiles(x86)%\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\108600 should hold roughly 164 numeric folders and Steam should show Project Zomboid as Up to date. If items are missing, restart Steam and click Subscribe to all again.
4. ZOMBIEBUDDY (the Java loader Project Viewpoint needs): download the latest ZombieBuddyInstaller.exe from https://github.com/zed-0xff/ZombieBuddy/releases, tell me the file name, have ME run it and choose "Both". Confirm the PZ Steam launch options contain -agentlib:zbNative -- (the installer sets it; add only if missing).
5. SERVER LIST: with the game closed, back up %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\db\ServerListSteam.db (if missing, have me start the game to the main menu once and quit), then add one row: name Oz Server, ip 208.75.182.159, port 28090, no duplicates. Leave the password empty (the server has none).
6. THEN TELL ME, and stop so I can play:
 - Multiplayer > Oz Server > pick a username/password > Join. If a Server Workshop Items list appears, press Install and wait.
 - First join takes about 3 minutes (173 mods) with one loading screen and no Click to Start step. Later joins are faster.
 - ZombieBuddy shows a Java Mod Approval window: tick Allow only on rows from Oz mods, Project Viewpoint and True Weathers; leave anything unfamiliar unticked; tick "Save decisions", OK.
 - Keys: O = aerial/classic camera, Shift+O = first person, Delete = quick graphics menu. If the world looks flat or washed out, press Delete and toggle any one True Weathers option off and on once.
 - Oz Server Tweaks applies recommended settings once (texture compression on, show username, hide the ZombieBuddy watermark) and shows a notice. Restart the game once after the first join. The Gunworks weapon loader key (O) is unbound by Oz Server Tweaks.
7. IF "Workshop item version is different" APPEARS: the server updated an Oz mod before my copy did. Close the game, let Steam finish updating (Downloads, nothing pending); if it persists use Properties > Installed files > Verify integrity, restart Steam, retry. Do not unsubscribe.
8. HELP: Discord https://discord.gg/v6JMDRYfX8 (#help-install); bring Zomboid\console.txt.

Claude desktop app (computer use, no terminal)

You are setting up my Windows PC to play on the Oz Server (Project Zomboid Build 42, first-person New York). You can see my screen and click, but you have no terminal: use only screenshots, clicks, typing in normal app windows, and File Explorer. Be imperative with me, do one step at a time, and WAIT for my OK before changing anything. Never change settings I did not ask for, never run installers by yourself (I click through them), and never ask me to type passwords into chat or type them for me. There is no server password.
FACTS: server 208.75.182.159 port 28090 (name "Oz Server"). Modpack collection https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3819427155 (164 items, ~9 GB, "Oz Modpack 1.0"). Required game: Project Zomboid Build 42.21. Discord: https://discord.gg/v6JMDRYfX8
1. CHECK PC: by looking at Settings > System > About and Task Manager > Performance, confirm Windows 10/11, 16 GB+ RAM, GPU with 8 GB+ VRAM, and in Steam > Settings > Storage that the Steam drive has 25 GB free (SSD strongly preferred). Minimum: 6-core CPU from 2019+, 16 GB RAM, 8 GB VRAM, SSD (first person in Midtown will stutter). Recommended: 8-core, 32 GB RAM, 12 GB+ VRAM, NVMe. Not supported: macOS, Intel Arc. With 16 GB RAM, guide me through a 16 GB Windows pagefile (Advanced system settings > Performance > Advanced > Virtual memory), only after I say yes. Report what you see and wait for my OK.
2. GAME: open Steam and check Project Zomboid is installed. Have me launch it to the main menu and read the version at the bottom (look at the screenshot). If it is not 42.21 (or is the old build 41), guide me: Steam > right-click Project Zomboid > Properties > Betas > choose the "unstable" branch (42.x), let it update, launch again and re-read the version. Then quit the game.
3. MODPACK: open the collection page in my browser or Steam (steam://url/CommunityFilePage/3819427155) and tell me to click "Subscribe to all" (you may click it after I say OK). Then watch Steam > Downloads until nothing is pending (9 GB, takes a while). Verify in File Explorer: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\workshop\content\108600 should hold roughly 164 numeric folders, and Steam should show Project Zomboid as Up to date. If items are missing, restart Steam and Subscribe to all again.
4. ZOMBIEBUDDY (the Java loader Project Viewpoint needs): open https://github.com/zed-0xff/ZombieBuddy/releases, scroll to the latest release, and click ZombieBuddyInstaller.exe under Assets. Watch my Downloads folder for it, tell me the file name, then have ME double-click it and choose "Both" while you watch and guide each screen. Afterwards check Steam > Project Zomboid > Properties > Launch Options contains -agentlib:zbNative -- ; if missing, ask me before adding it.
5. SERVER LIST: no file editing. Have me start Project Zomboid to the main menu, then click Multiplayer > Add Server (the game's own screen): Name Oz Server, IP 208.75.182.159, Port 28090, leave the password empty, Save. Do not create duplicates.
6. THEN TELL ME, and stop so I can play:
 - Multiplayer > Oz Server > pick a username/password > Join. If a Server Workshop Items list appears, press Install and wait.
 - First join takes about 3 minutes (173 mods) with one loading screen and no Click to Start step. Later joins are faster.
 - ZombieBuddy shows a Java Mod Approval window: tick Allow only on rows from Oz mods, Project Viewpoint and True Weathers; leave anything unfamiliar unticked; tick "Save decisions", OK.
 - Keys: O = aerial/classic camera, Shift+O = first person, Delete = quick graphics menu. If the world looks flat or washed out, press Delete and toggle any one True Weathers option off and on once.
 - Oz Server Tweaks applies recommended settings once (texture compression on, show username, hide the ZombieBuddy watermark) and shows a notice. Restart the game once after the first join. The Gunworks weapon loader key (O) is unbound by Oz Server Tweaks.
7. IF "Workshop item version is different" APPEARS: the server updated an Oz mod before my copy did. Close the game, let Steam finish updating (Downloads, nothing pending); if it persists use Steam > Project Zomboid > Properties > Installed files > Verify integrity, restart Steam, retry. Do not unsubscribe.
8. HELP: Discord https://discord.gg/v6JMDRYfX8 (#help-install); bring Zomboid\console.txt (in my user folder, Zomboid).

What changed: OzNYC World 2.5.6

The map is bigger in every direction and the world is fresh (Oct 16). Needs Oz NYC Facades 1.5.1 or later (it carries the Oz Structures tiles); Oz Street 3D 1.1.17 carries their 3D models, the bridge ramp slopes and readable gantry signs.

2.5.5-2.5.6 (Oct 16 pm): Stewart Air Base rebuilt from real buildings with a runway, hangars and towers; Fort Lee, Tarrytown and 15 suburbs swap generated boxes for real houses; Garment west flank, Brooklyn and Hoboken plazas redesigned; bridge approaches dressed; set pieces now curated on 225 sites; waystone travel fixed and a map picker added.
Bridges: elevated highway bridges (George Washington, Harlem, Queensboro, Williamsburg) with ramps and boats underneath. The decks start jammed with wreck scenes; clear them by towing.
Waterfront: a Manhattan seawall promenade, a Brooklyn harbor with piers, slips, a breakwater, a boat ramp and a container yard, and a Bronx airfield.
Landmarks: Blender-built GWB towers, harbor cranes, hangars, a terminal and tower, skyline crowns and a stadium. Floating roof props are fixed, rooftops have detail and empty blocks are filled.
Loot: 101 loot buildings in Midtown and every town: gun stores, police stations, banks, a hospital, pharmacies, fire stations, gas stations and warehouses.
Parks and suburbs: Central Park, pocket parks and plazas, and suburbs that no longer look like boxes. In-game map features cover all of it, and spawn points walk you out onto the street.
Server Pack 0.5.37: 20 runtime set-piece types in open ground, WreckField 2.0 mega pile-ups and two-car crash scenes, the welcome after the city loads, first person on join.
Also: Fast Boot 1.4.26 (one-screen join, Oz Division on every tier with its own profile), Waystones 0.4.11 (beacon platforms with stairs, map picker on use, travel fixed), Server Pack 0.5.44 (225 curated street set pieces, bridge jams with drivable gaps), Tweaks 1.2.23, Division 0.1.8, HD City Tiles 1.1.8 with Blender-baked textures. 173 mods in total.

What changed in Oz Modpack 1.0

The server is lighter and joins faster: 195 mods down to 173. Duplicates and heavy extras were removed; everything else stays.

Added: Oz Division Shaders, the default look on high-end PCs, required, loaded right after Viewpoint.
Removed, another mod already does the job: Source Movement and Parkour (Advanced Movement covers jumping, vaulting and climbing), Camera Tweaks (the Classic camera option covers it), Open Ammo While Walking (Use Items While Walking covers it), two duplicate Neat Building add-ons.
Removed, heavy for small gain: Blood FX and its add-on, Binoculars, Death Camera, Dynamic Events, Jumbo Tree Indoor Fix.
Removed gameplay extras: Take a Bath and Shower, Skateboards, Horses, Zombie Virus Vaccine and the Lab Intern profession, the M1 Abrams tank and its library, the old Guns of Marz pack (our other gun packs stay).
Joining: one loading screen for the whole join, no Click to Start step, fast rejoin.

What you may notice: skateboards, horses, the tank, the old Marz guns and the vaccine items no longer exist. Do not keep anything you care about in them. The helicopters, scopes, water and 3D props are unchanged.

Unsubscribe from these 19 Workshop items to save disk space (they are no longer used). Do NOT unsubscribe Neat Building (3536052310).

2934985376 Vanilla Open Ammo Walk
3592172476 Take a Bath and Shower
3722134990 Guns of Marz (Old Version)
3456675747 Skateboard
3615135168 Zombie Virus Vaccine and Lab Intern
3774826484 Jumbo Tree Indoor Fix
3695874178 Dynamic Events
3399660368 War Thunder Vehicle Library
3397147307 M1 Abrams
3816588758 Viewpoint Death Cam
3811141563 Viewpoint Source Movement
3811645644 Project Viewpoint Parkour
3661336777 Horse
3813760573 Horse Patch 3D
3811472160 Viewpoint Blood FX
3813801053 Viewpoint Blood FX Addon
3818585720 Viewpoint Binoculars
3814742214 Camera Tweaks Viewpoint
3404791450 Super Bulldozer B42 (not on the server)

How to join (5 minutes)

Subscribe to the collection with one click ("Subscribe to all"): Oz Server Modpack. Let Steam finish downloading (about 9 GB, best done the day before).
Install ZombieBuddy once (the Java loader Project Viewpoint needs, not on the Workshop): ZombieBuddyInstaller.exe, choose Both. On first launch approve the Java mods.
Join: Project Zomboid → Multiplayer → Add Server 208.75.182.159 port 28090. There is no server password: leave it blank. Pick a username and password for your account and press Connect. If a "Server Workshop Items" list appears, press Install and wait (the HD texture packs are about 1 GB). When ZombieBuddy shows its Java Mod Approval window, tick Allow on the rows that belong to the Oz Server's Workshop mods (the list; Java mods run with full rights on your PC, so leave anything you do not recognise unticked), tick "Save decisions" and press OK.
Spawn: choose a Midtown district or a town on the map, make your character, play. The first load takes 2-3 minutes (173 mods); later ones are faster.
Optional, same PC class as ours (RTX 4070/5070, 32 GB): download oz-viewpoint-settings.properties, rename it to viewpoint-live.properties and drop it into your Zomboid folder with the game closed. That applies our whole Viewpoint graphics setup (Oz Division Quality profile, frame generation on, low latency on, field of view 80, flat layered clouds, far view 64 blocks).
Optional, performance setup (Windows): the modded city needs a bigger Java heap and a few Windows GPU settings. Download oz_pc_tune.py (and oz_pz_profile.nip for NVIDIA cards), close the game, run python oz_pc_tune.py --dry-run and read the table of current vs recommended values. To apply, run python oz_pc_tune.py (as Administrator to include GPU scheduling) and type YES yourself; it backs up every file it changes and python oz_pc_tune.py --undo restores them.
By hand: in Steam\steamapps\common\ProjectZomboid\ProjectZomboid64.json set -Xmx to 12g (32 GB RAM), 10g (24 GB) or 8g (16 GB; expect stutter, 16 GB PCs will struggle); do not go below 11g on 32 GB because the modded server peaks near 10.5 GB of heap. Windows Settings > System > Display > Graphics: turn on Hardware-accelerated GPU scheduling (reboot) and add ProjectZomboid64.exe with High performance. NVIDIA: with NVIDIA Profile Inspector run nvidiaProfileInspector.exe -silentImport oz_pz_profile.nip (max performance power mode, threaded optimization on). Steam "Verify integrity of game files" resets the json, so redo the heap after it.

Advanced (Claude Code, also pre-approves the Java mods and tunes your PC):

Set up Project Zomboid (Build 42) to join the Oz Server on Windows. 1) Open steam://url/CommunityFilePage/3819427155 and have me click Subscribe to all, then wait for Steam to finish downloading. 2) Install ZombieBuddy into my Project Zomboid folder with ZombieBuddyInstaller.exe from https://github.com/zed-0xff/ZombieBuddy/releases (latest), and make sure the Steam launch options contain -agentlib:zbNative -- . 3) With the game closed, add the server to my list: in %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\db\ServerListSteam.db (back it up first; if it does not exist, have me start the game to the main menu once and quit) run INSERT INTO server(name,ip,port,serverPassword) SELECT 'Oz Server','208.75.182.159',28090,'' WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM server WHERE ip='208.75.182.159' AND port=28090). 4) Download https://evrenozdogan.github.io/oz-server/tools/oz_zb_allow_pack.py and https://evrenozdogan.github.io/oz-server/tools/oz_zb_allow_list.json into one folder and read the script. With the game closed, run python oz_zb_allow_pack.py --dry-run and show me its whole table (each Java mod jar with its Workshop item name and what would happen to it). Do not answer its YES question for me: I will run python oz_zb_allow_pack.py myself and type YES only if I agree (it can only pre-approve the Oz Server's own list of Java mods, pinned to reviewed file hashes; anything else is left to ZombieBuddy's own window). 5) Optional performance setup: download https://evrenozdogan.github.io/oz-server/tools/oz_pc_tune.py and https://evrenozdogan.github.io/oz-server/tools/oz_pz_profile.nip into one folder and read the script. With the game closed, run python oz_pc_tune.py --dry-run and show me its whole table (Java heap size for my RAM, Windows GPU scheduling and graphics preference for the game, NVIDIA profile steps, each with current vs recommended). Do not answer its YES question for me: I will run python oz_pc_tune.py myself and type YES only if I agree (it backs up every file it changes and python oz_pc_tune.py --undo restores them). 6) Graphics: with the game closed, download https://evrenozdogan.github.io/oz-server/oz-viewpoint-settings.properties and save it as %USERPROFILE%\Zomboid\viewpoint-live.properties (back up the existing file first). That applies the server's recommended Viewpoint setup: Oz Division Quality shader profile, frame generation on, low latency on, field of view 80, flat layered clouds, far view 64 blocks. 7) Change nothing else. Then tell me: start the game, Multiplayer, pick Oz Server, choose a username and password, join, click Install on the Workshop list, and if the ZombieBuddy approval window still shows rows, read them and tick Allow only on mods from the Oz Server's Workshop list (an updated Oz mod shows up here again; anything you do not recognise, leave unticked).

Controls: O first person · V aim · Q/E lean · hold crouch = prone · Space vault · Delete graphics. Requirements: Build 42.21, 16 GB RAM, 8 GB+ VRAM (texture compression on below 12 GB), Windows or Linux. macOS and Intel Arc are not supported by Viewpoint.

Server

Address208.75.182.159:28090 VersionProject Zomboid Build 42.21 ModePvP with safety system · factions · protected safehouses MapOzNYC World 2.5.6 (Midtown, Hudson Valley, Knox County towns) · Distanciado ModpackSteam collection Discorddiscord.gg/v6JMDRYfX8 HostingIndifferent Broccoli server page

In game

A Midtown corner block with wrecked cars and zombies on the avenue

A long first-person avenue between brick blocks, a burnt-out van in the foreground

Third person in a brick plaza with a wrecked car, zombies far down the avenue

A fogged brick plaza with debris and street lamps

A dirt path through tall grass in the Hudson Valley countryside

Pine trees and a lake shore in the Oz Server countryside

The world

Midtown Manhattan in the centre, eight Hudson Valley towns and military sites around it, plus vanilla Knox County towns (Riverside, Muldraugh, Rosewood and more). Downtown districts are foggier and darker, and the military sites and prison have their own gloom. Fast travel between the waystones you have found.

Our mods

Also: Oz Server Pack · Oz Home · Oz Server Tweaks · OzLook shader pack · Oz Fast Boot · Oz HD City Tiles (HD asphalt, sidewalks, floors and walls) · Oz HD Cars (AI-upscaled vehicle skins, 2048) · Oz HD Gear (HD weapons, body and clothing)