Project Zomboid dev warns its popular new first-person mods aren’t officially supported, so use at your own risk

The Project Zomboid community has been shaken up recently by the introduction of first-person mods that transform the isometric apocalypse survival game into an immersive experience that drops you directly at the heart of the action. Three variants in particular have garnered huge attention over the past couple of months, but they come with the additional caveat of having to step outside the Steam Workshop. In response, The Indie Stone has delivered a statement to remind people that, while it encourages creative and experimental Project Zomboid mods, it can’t offer official support for them, and you should be aware of the risks before installing any such add-ons.

Things really kicked off in August with the release of First Person View from ‘Mr Queeges.’ This particular creation is built within the established mod framework of Project Zomboid using its Lua tools, and as such can still be considered the same as anything you can find on the Steam Workshop. Its implementation of the first-person perspective is fairly basic, however, doing nothing more than switching your viewpoint of the zombie game. This causes almost all of the environments and objects to look rather strange, as they’ve been built to be seen from one specific angle.

Following this in September came two new contenders, Project Viewpoint by ‘ellu’ and ‘norkus,’ and pz3d by ‘kolpaque.’ Both of these make more substantial attempts to overhaul the area around you, making the world feel much more realistic and immersive. They both support the ability to play in first-person or third-person as you explore the redesigned 3D world. In order to do this, however, both are built using Java, the programming language used by The Indie Stone for the game’s source code, rather than through its established Lua framework for modders.

This means you can’t just install them through Steam, but need to use a third-party tool called Zombie Buddy that can be found via GitHub. It also means they’re able to make more fundamental changes to the game, moving outside the usual limits set by The Indie Stone. The developer explains it like so: “If a Lua mod repaints your house and adds new wallpaper, a Java mod builds a new house nearby, which could even be built without you knowing, and then have an additional, unseen back door.”

The Indie Stone stresses that this doesn’t immediately mean the creators behind such mods have any bad intent or will aim to put your computer at risk. “However, it does mean that Java mods require a different level of trust,” it emphasizes. “You are not simply installing new game content; you are allowing third-party code to run on your machine.” To help mitigate this, it encourages players “to look for mods that are open-source, or allow builds to be reproduced,” giving people the ability to spot any potential security risks.

“The Indie Stone officially supports Lua-based modding for Project Zomboid,” the team writes. “We have to stress that Java-based mods, including third-party loaders, frameworks, and modifications that alter the game’s underlying implementation, are not officially supported.” That matters both because The Indie Stone can’t offer any security protections, but also because it cannot provide technical support for such mods, and indeed suggests it’s likely you’ll more frequently run into mods breaking when a new update is released.

“Our resources must be developing the core game,” it continues. “There is always a risk that any mod in any language will break alongside a game update, but Java-based mods rely on internal code that will always change as the game develops. When we ship new updates, Java-based mods will be fundamentally broken by those updates, without warning.” It also notes that it’s only able to investigate bug reports that are able to be replicated in unmodded games (whether you’re using Java or Lua mods).

Along with encouraging players who want to try Java-based modding to seek out open-source creations, The Indie Stone states that you should also look for community reporting and feedback. It notes that another benefit of the Steam Workshop is its review system, alongside the ability to flag or report problem mods. While this isn’t a complete guarantee of safety (PZ had one such incident earlier this year with mods on the Workshop) and you should always exercise caution, it certainly offers more peace of mind.

“Our policy here is not a judgement on individual mods, their creators, or you as a player using them,” the team concludes. “We want the Project Zomboid community to continue experimenting, creating, and finding new ways to play. Mods are hugely important, and we appreciate the effort that goes into making them. If you choose to use Java-based mods, we ask that you understand the risks, that those mods may break after game updates, and the limitations on our support. Happy modding, and stay safe out there, survivor.”