Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid

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The Ark [b42]
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308.827 MB
Apr 15 @ 11:22am
Jun 6 @ 12:32pm
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The Ark [b42]

Description
The Ark
  • Use 42.18 or higher,
  • Mod version (1.10.9) should match version in game on main menu screen
  • Do not report bugs if other mods are used

The Ark is a direct sequel to the Bandits: Week One mod, continuing the story after the dramatic events of the first chapter. You awaken from a coma; disorientated, changed and discover that the world — and your place in it — is no longer the same.

Unlike Week One, The Ark delivers a quite different experience. This is a narrative-driven adventure focused on progression, discovery, and atmosphere. The story unfolds step by step, drawing you deeper into a world filled with mystery and unanswered questions. The story will lead you to the answer for the ultimate question about the Knox Infection.

Expect rich lore, unexpected twists, and carefully placed surprises as you explore new locations and encounter new events. The mod introduces original gameplay mechanics designed specifically to support the story and immerse you in its themes. Your choices, observations, and persistence matter.

The Ark is not just about survival and not about you only — it’s about uncovering the truth, forming connection with other human, and facing moments of challenge. This is a slower, more deliberate journey meant to be experienced, not rushed, but there is also a lot of intense action moments.

What is the Ark?
The Ark is a SINGLE-PLAYER ONLY mod for Project Zomboid Build 42. It is a total conversion of PZ that revamps the entire map and adds custom elements including NPC's. It is intended to be played through slowly, and offers a story-driven campaign that has probably never been attempted at this scale. This mod cannot be played like vanilla Project Zomboid, it is meant to be explored slowly and methodically.

What to expect?
This mod is an immersive story that has hundreds of quest lines, where you will explore the ruins of Knox Country, discover the lore of the mysterious Arks, the outbreak of the Knox infection and your place in this apocalypse. But, this story is not just about you: You have others to consider, and their survival is important as your own. This mod is difficult and even the most seasoned PZ players will struggle with some of the changes in the world. Be on your toes at any moment.

How to play?
This mod requires unstable B42 version of the game as well as [B42] Bandits NPC and [B42] Waterpipes mods to run. It is recommended that you play through this mod without any additional mods, ESPECIALLY mods that will overwrite zombie behaviour, zombies, and survival items such as gas masks/hazmat suits. It is also recommended that you do not change the default settings in Sandbox for your first playthrough.

It is recommended that you back up your saves frequently. Death comes knocking at every door and at every opportunity. Copy the files in your X:\Users\YourName\Zomboid\Saves\Sandbox\ARK_vX.XXX_Date-Time to a separate folder. If you die, replace the files in that folder with the backup files and overwrite them.

Similar to Week One, you can talk with NPC's by pressing the T key, however you will not be expected to type out what you want to say to other NPC's. You can also interact with other NPC's by holding down the Q key, which will give you commands such as to follow/stay and other opportunities to interact with them.

The Ark features a central computer, called NOAH, that gives you information about the situation within the Ark. You can interact with it by right clicking on the terminal. You can exit the interaction window by either walking away from the terminal or by closing the terminal by exiting all of the menus.

It is vital that you maintain the Ark. This means keeping it fueled, stocked and functioning to ensure survival deep underground. Things such as generators, decontamination chambers and vents all need maintenance to keep running smoothly.

Radiation exposure is a major hazard when travelling out of the Ark. It is essential that you prepare for the nuclear winter that has followed the nuclear detonation. Wearing an intact hazmat suit and a gas mask with working filters is important. If you are exposed to radiation, taking Potassium Iodine pills can help to lower your radiation levels, but it is a gradual process and will not take away radiation right away. Do not eat irradiated items without taking them through decontamination first.

Lore documents can be explored by clicking on the arrow buttons at the bottom of the page.

Important items will be highlighted once you get close to them.

Please do not post spoilers here. I reserve the right to delete them.

I ran into an error, what should I do?
The Ark has been in testing for months, however errors are expected to come up due to how complex the mod is. If you encounter errors, please report them to Slayer's Discord[discord.gg]. Please do not report errors that are due to mod conflicts.

Donations
If you like my work, be sure to give it a LIKE or:
[ko-fi.com]

Known Issues
  • Player body or some body parts are invisible - restart the game
  • Emma is stuck - hold Q, select Movement and Follow me, go with her to some other location and then hold Q, select Movement and Don't follow.
  • Enabling Living Skeletons can cause issues with targeting. It is recommended that you do not enable this option.

Endure.

Music
Here is a playlist of all tracks in the mod.
Credits
  • SAFE D MAN - ideas and lore artifacts
  • Max Payne, dae26 - ideas, lore contribution and testing
  • Peter Hammerman - Fuel Tanker Truck model
  • Dane - help with building editing
  • Hazmat suits by BongoRaccoon32
  • RU translation: Pirate_Pistoletov

Workshop ID: 3707475814
Mod ID: BanditsWeekOneTheArk
Popular Discussions View All (468)
11
Jun 7 @ 5:32pm
The Emma Getting Stuck Discussion
Safe D Man
24
19 hours ago
ARK Defense/Maintenance
Sir.MuffinCakes
10
Jun 5 @ 7:06am
Need suggestion for additional mod to accompany my journey
frey
1,775 Comments
19 minutes ago 
i would like to express my sincere gratitutde to you, slayer. i watched some youtuber's vid on this and his comment at the end being liberally offended over your use of AI sold me immediately on wiping my modlist to play it, and boy was it worth it. something like this is not easy to achieve, requires a great will and creative endeavour, and addresses basically every issue zomboid has with late game progression. you're the man. keep on trucking. greatness awaits you.
13 hours ago 
First of all, its amazing to see what zomboid could be like with npcs and a story, loved that part. What i dont love is waking up one night to a random fire in the store room and 30 seconds later the whole ark was on fire, seems a bit unfair. Emma likes to snack on roaches in garbage bins, times are rough.
16 hours ago 
Good point but the latter point still stands. Amazing lore/concept but very flawed execution. The questline and its objectives (especially when you reach them) are highly questionable but I can't speak about them here because it is considered a spoiler. I am not against the unconventional deaths.
Slayer  [author]
19 hours ago 
grief comments are unnecessary. are players allowed to die only by original vanilla mechanics?
Jun 8 @ 10:50pm 
Why cant I be a hot girl?
Jun 8 @ 7:25pm 
Looking boring !
Under siege every 20 minutes, dreams that kill you cause mobs are human with better range melee and destroy your ass. Finally after 1-2h of struggle, got raid or disfonction that start a giant fire on my bunker... Didn't get the time to start a quest cause of that. Have fun guys, I pass my turn ^^
Jun 8 @ 6:03pm 
This mod is almost good. So close to being really maybe the best mod there is, but the unavoidable dreams where you get massacred in a cornfield and your run is ended completely ruin it. It's a dream, why the ♥♥♥♥ do you ACTUALLY DIE? Genuine complete waste of time. No I am not making 1000 backups to die to the same dream again.
Jun 8 @ 3:39pm 
@ChuckTheDuck
Best option is to enable -debug, load your game, right click on your screen select Debug > Zombies > Remove All. This will remove all copies of Emma and one should spawn.
Jun 8 @ 2:30pm 
yo guys have you also encountered the bug where emma duplicates when you enter the ark from a looting run i have tried so many tricks to delete spawn and teleport her in debug resubbed too but nothing seems to work now i have 4 emmas in my base
Jun 8 @ 12:51pm 
would be great if you could upload just the map of the updated bunker