Hello, I'm new to both Project Zomboid and GOG, and was wondering how hosting a small Multiplayer Server would work on this program? I've read it's not as simple as it is on Steam, one thread I found even said you would need to buy a server to host multiplayer for this game specifically on GOG, is that true?

I don't need or want a server that runs constantly, simply one to play with a small amount of friends. Up to 3, tops. Does GOG Galaxy allow for private personal servers like Steam does for this game?

Well the option to join/host multiplayer games is there. Dunno how easy it is to host on Steam, but here you need to set like 50 settings. I expect on Steam it's the same though. ''default'' settings cause a timeout, so you can't just click ''go already, start something random!'' but downloading some VanillaServer.ini or whatever shouldn't be problem. Otherwise you can just hop into some random server and play there, fast zombies, hard settings be damned. :/

Go on reddit and look for:

(www here) reddit (.com here) /r/projectzomboid/comments/reemg5/b41_mp_dedicated_server_working_docker_image/

For such a small number of players using a VPN should work. Just host the server on your machine and be in the same VPN as your peers then they connect by direct IP. Configuring the server with the in-game GUI will just work. (You can later copy the configs to a dedicated server if you ever need to, without manually fiddling with config files).

If you have control over your router firewall and do not fear opening a port, you can also forward the Zomboid ports to your external IP temporarily and have your peers connect to that.

There are also several hosters that allow you to rent pre-configured servers for very short time periods for just a few bucks. Saves a lot of time and nerves at the cost of a Dollar/Euro or two.

I would recommend to try and see if you can build a VPN with your friends, it might be useful for other games as well.

It's actually not that hard.

In your \GOG Games\Project Zomboid\ folder you will find ProjectZomboidServer.bat. This starts the dedicated Project Zomboid server.

You should not need to edit that bat file at all. If you use over 100 mods you may need to increase the allocated memory by changing the -Xmx value in the file.

The rest is straight forward. In your Project Zomboid client, go to HOST and edit the servertest settings, and set them how you'd like them on the server. Save when done. Exit, and the launch the dedicated server using the bat file.