Project Zomboid Sandbox Settings Guide

Complete guide to Project Zomboid SandboxVars.lua settings for customizing time, weather, farming, vehicles, XP, and more.

The SandboxVars.lua file controls almost every gameplay aspect of your Project Zomboid server. This guide covers the most important settings organized by category.

How to Edit

Open the file

On XGamingServer, go to Files and navigate to:

Zomboid/Server/[servername]_SandboxVars.lua

Edit the values

Change the settings you want to modify. Values are in Lua format.

Save and restart

Save the file and restart from the Dashboard.

📝 Note: For zombie and loot settings specifically, see Zombie Settings and Loot Respawn.

Time & Day Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`DayLength`	1	Day length (1=15 min, 2=30 min, 3=1 hr, 4=2 hr ... up to real-time)
`StartMonth`	7	Starting month (1=Jan, 7=Jul, etc.)
`StartDay`	1	Starting day of the month
`StartTime`	2	Start time (1=7am, 2=9am, 3=12pm, 4=2pm, 5=5pm, 6=9pm, 7=12am, 8=2am, 9=5am)
`NightLength`	1	Night length modifier (1=Short, 2=Normal, 3=Long, 4=Always Night)

Weather & Season

Setting	Default	Description
`Temperature`	3	Temperature severity (1=Very Cold, 2=Cold, 3=Normal, 4=Warm, 5=Very Warm)
`Rain`	3	Rain frequency (1=Very Dry, 2=Dry, 3=Normal, 4=Rainy, 5=Very Rainy)
`ErosionSpeed`	3	How fast nature reclaims (1=Very Fast, 2=Fast, 3=Normal, 4=Slow, 5=Very Slow)
`ErosionDays`	0	Days before erosion starts (0 = immediate)

Water & Electricity

Setting	Default	Description
`WaterShut`	2	When water shuts off (0=Instant, 1=0-30 days, 2=0-2 months, 3=0-6 months, 4=0-1 year, 5=0-5 years, 6=Never)
`ElecShut`	2	When electricity shuts off (same scale as water)
`WaterShutModifier`	-1	Exact day for water shutoff (-1 = use random within WaterShut range)
`ElecShutModifier`	-1	Exact day for electricity shutoff
`GeneratorSpawning`	3	Generator spawn frequency (1=Extremely Rare ... 5=Abundant)
`GeneratorFuelConsumption`	1.0	Fuel consumption multiplier

Never Shut Off Utilities

WaterShut = 6,
ElecShut = 6,

XP & Skills

Setting	Default	Description
`XPMultiplier`	1.0	Global XP multiplier
`XPMultiplierAffectsPassive`	true	Whether multiplier applies to passive XP gain
`StatsDecrease`	3	How fast needs decay (1=Very Fast ... 5=Very Slow)

Boosted XP for Faster Progression

XPMultiplier = 3.0,
XPMultiplierAffectsPassive = true,

Farming & Nature

Setting	Default	Description
`Farming`	3	Farm speed (1=Very Fast ... 5=Very Slow)
`NatureAbundance`	3	Foraging abundance (1=Very Poor ... 5=Very Abundant)
`FishingAbundance`	3	Fishing success rate
`PlantResilience`	3	How resilient plants are
`PlantAbundance`	3	How many crops plants yield

Vehicles

Setting	Default	Description
`EnableVehicles`	true	Enable/disable vehicles
`CarSpawnRate`	3	Vehicle spawn frequency (1=Very Rare ... 5=Abundant)
`ChanceHasGas`	3	Chance vehicles have fuel
`InitialGas`	3	Starting fuel level in vehicles
`CarGeneralCondition`	3	Average vehicle condition (1=Terrible ... 5=Pristine)
`CarDamageOnImpact`	3	Damage vehicles take on impact
`CarGasConsumption`	1.0	Fuel consumption rate

Construction & Crafting

Setting	Default	Description
`ConstructionBonusPoints`	0	Bonus construction XP
`CookingBonusPoints`	0	Bonus cooking XP
`FarmingBonusPoints`	0	Bonus farming XP
`MaxPlanksPerTree`	3	Planks obtained per tree
`AllClothesUnlocked`	false	Unlock all clothing recipes

Recommended Presets

Casual PvE

DayLength = 3,
XPMultiplier = 2.0,
WaterShut = 6,
ElecShut = 6,
Temperature = 3,
ZombieCount = 4,
LootRespawn = 4,

Hardcore Survival

DayLength = 2,
XPMultiplier = 1.0,
WaterShut = 1,
ElecShut = 1,
Temperature = 2,
ZombieCount = 2,
LootRespawn = 2,
HoursForLootRespawn = 0,

Roleplay Server

DayLength = 4,
XPMultiplier = 1.5,
WaterShut = 6,
ElecShut = 6,
ZombieCount = 5,
PopulationMultiplier = 0.3,
EnableVehicles = true,
CarSpawnRate = 4,

If you need help, join our Discord.

Project Zomboid Sandbox Settings Guide

On this page