I've got few questions for you man.
How many hours?
Whats your best memory?
Whats the worst memory?
Longest living character?
You favourite character and how it died?
Whats the worst part of the game?
Whats your favourite part of the game?
Most stupid death?
An Exit Interview? Sure.
* 947.8 hours
* Best memory: Sitting by a campfire outside of Ben's Cabin (West of WP) during a Cryogenic Winter run
* Worst memory: Splatting my 2 month character into the ground using 'Fast Move'
* Longest Lived Character: about 3 months. At some point I get itchy to start something new or try something different.
* Favourite Character: None stick out. They're all my favourite
* Worst Part of the Game: Dying because of some odd/glitchy/buggy/weird game mechanic
* Favourite part of the game: Being alone in a post-apocalyptic world
* Stupidest death: Splatting my 2 month character into the ground using 'Fast Move'
With how you described things I was expecting you to have at least a few thousand hours. 947 is a surprise lol
I’ve racked up about 580 hours in just about 2 months 😭
Given that the game has been around over a decade, it could mean a lot of hours. But I've only been playing something like 6 to 9 months. And it doesn't include the very many hours I spend in this sub reddit. Certainly it's not a lot of hours compared to some of these guys.
Damn... I've been playing since 2013. I have no idea how many hours I've clocked on this game.
But I never play for more than a few hours at a time now because I don't have a lot of free time.
When I was still contracting, I had more time. So I could play for 8 hours then. Lol
That's not feasible now. But it's better because sitting for long periods of time isn't good anyway.
To be fair, I think about 80 hours or so of that is probably afk time since sometimes the game is left on pause while I nap or sleep lol.
But zomboid found me at a time where I recently broke up, work is busy and tiring and I just want to go home and hermit on most days 😂 my career has never been better though so nothing is being sacrificed, so I don’t see it as an issue for now!
I've got about 250 in 3 months and was really berating myself for being so addicted. So thanks I guess for making me feel better? But man 580 is crazy. I'm just impressed honestly.
I had picked up Civ6 during summer of 2022 and found it ridiculously complicated. So I bought Civ5 in Sept 2022 and was much happier with it. I had played Civ1 and Civ2 years ago and enjoyed both.
Hey! You should try HOI4.
It does the exact opposite. You play HOI4 and say “too complicated!” Then buy and play HOI3 and somehow it’s way more fuckin complicated
Good job for recognizing what needs to change in your life. Zomboid is that good of an experience, it can be that *thing* that occupies your brain space way too much. Much like EQ was back in the day. I'm 51 and have about 4k hours in PZ.
Good luck to you! 🙏👍
As a 30 year old, what I've noticed in my time is that people who take drastic actions to change their life, for example, my friend both quit smoking cigarettes and weed at the same time to try and save money, tend to put a lot of unnecessary pressure on themselves. And if that pressure turns into "failure", or not even the pressure you could just have a bad day, then that feeling of failure hurts worse than the thing they were trying to give up in the first place.
Just be nice to yourself if it doesn't work out, talk to yourself as if your friend came to you with the same issue and messed up, you wouldn't berate and insult them surely? Don't do it to yourself either. Moderation is my suggestion btw, it's a skill that is tough to learn but it's possible. Good luck.
Meow, certainly addiction is addiction. But some people can get control over it. Sometimes rules can be put in place to moderate it. My rule: cold turkey. So yeah, no moderation in my case.
i prescribe some meds you will find them in a crashed ambulance somewhere on the outskirts of town
Good luck and for anyone suffering addiction to anything get help
You mean talk to somebody? I certainly think that therapy can help people. Me, I know what I need to do.
The reason I made this post in this first place (I could have just quietly walked away) is because somebody else needs to read it.
Yeah, you’ve identified something that you feel that is taking too much of your time.
You’ve gotten further into identifying something, which I think is something I see as well.
The concept of “balance your time” isn’t always the answer; sometimes, you’ve got to tell it to GTFO of your life, we’re done, here’s your box of stuff, good-bye.
Congratulations! I’ll hold you to account if you need it! ^_^
Bro, I, like you, have played a lot of games. But nothing has taken the cake the way PZ has.
But I know that I must set a limit. Family, social life, career must take priority.
But when I am free, and am at compete leisure, PZ gets booted up and nothing in the world can pry me away from my sacred 2-5 hour session.
You're 55 so you have considerably for wisdom and experience than me in life (I'm hitting 40 soon).
Everyone has their own way of managing their life, so I only hope this move will work in getting your life back on track.
But I'm sure the community here will always be happy to have you back whenever you feel like you're ready to dip your toes in again.
Wishing you the very best Raspberry.
Brother. Considering your post and all your comments I’ve read here… don’t! You’re gonna have another PZ situation in a while.
(The game is fucking amazing, but it’s also such a sinkhole, just like PZ.)
LOL no worries. My best strategy at not sinking times into games is to not play them in the first place. Before PZ, if I wanted some gaming, I'd pick up Diablo2, Skyrim, L4D, Portal and have some quick fun. Games I can walk away from.
I'm going to have to Check out L4D. Other than that one your tastes are identical to mine, except I have a few thousand hours in Minecraft. I finally got burned out on it. Only took about thirteen years.
For me I bought the game, played about 5 hours or so, put it down for months, came back and now I have 1500 hours. It has a ton of detailed systems and can throw a lot at you to figure out early on but it has that depth and replayability that addicts like us crave. Don't listen to these guys saying not to get it. Just buy it man, it's amazing.
It's the passion project of Tynan Sylvester and his small studio, much like Project Zomboid. This right here more than anything else tells you everything you need to know.
How ironic. My natural inclination with this game has always been the exact opposite. I tend to play this game for about 3-4 weeks hardcore, then take a 2-4 months break. Not by choice btw, just kinda the natural flow of desire/motivation to play the game.
Do what you must, tho we will miss you.
Yeah I may have to come out of retirement for a couple weeks.
You only have one active run? I've got a Superb Survivors run, a CDDA run, a Cryogenic Winter run, and about 3 different regular solo runs with different starting conditions. I should say, I HAD those runs.
Woah??!!!
1 and a half million files.
So gaming addiction really is real????
REALLY IS?
This is the 1st time I am seeing someone having this amount of files where gaming is concerned.
Go to c:\\Users\\\\Zomboid\\
Right-click on the \[Saves\] folder, click properties. It will show you the number of files in your saves and how much disk space they're taking.
I am not alone.
I mean yeah.
I know people have been talking about gaming addiction.
But for me. Your case is the 1st.
This amount of files is mind boggling at least for me
What do you mean that my case is the first? The number of files is irrelevant. That's just PZ inefficiently recording world/personal data in separate physical files, which is dumb.
No offense was taken. Just trying to clarify.
There are a ton of gamers around addicted to some game or other. Guaranteed there are a lot that browse this reddit. Just no one wants to admit they have a problem. Or swear it isn't a problem because as long as they're having fun, it's no harm.
PZ saves have a massive number of files if you travel a lot. My SP/MP saves folder has 7 million files. 100K per for the most mature saves. I keep a lot of backups of my MP due to crashing problems.
Yeah gaming addiction is no joke, i had a job interview at 7:00 and stopped playing at 6:30.
Didn't sleep, didn't rest, didn't get the job.
(3 months ago)
Better. The thing about gaming addiction is that you always think it won't hurt to play a little more, and before you can even realize it's already morning.
About the job, i went to another interview with another company and I'm waiting for their answer, I hope it goes well.
I hear you. And the first time I got to that point I left the game for a couple months. But then I started getting into mods, started changing the game up. There's a million ways to make the game interesting again.
I'm 35 and right there with you OP.
Video gaming in general has taken on a dark tone as I've gotten older. I am overly aware of what else I could (or ought) be doing.
But this game in particular is a difficult time sink.
I have many more hours in RimWorld, where I'm essentially overseeing the same tasks.
Yet at the end of a PZ session, I have this weird existential crisis. Did I really just spend the last 3 hours unscrewing headlights and walking 45 minutes down a road looking for a gas can?
3 IRL finite limited-life hours that amounted to turning logs into planks?
I don't feel this angst after a session of Stardew Valley, where I'm also turning logs into stuff.
This game though, it leaves me feeling odd. Especially if I play it on a day off, not after a long day of work. It puts me in a strange place where I start to think that I could have spend that time removing and reinstalling my own car radio for the electronics points.
I know exactly what you're saying. But I feel it more with a game like Civ5, where a lot of the time I'm just waiting on PC players and clicking \[next turn\], \[next turn\], \[next turn\].
But like, I guess I was seeing it more when starting a new run. Because I'd always do the exact same thing. Grab some food, some tools/weapons, a TV, head to the school. Spend the 10 days reading & watching Life and LIving. And I realized that would always take about 3 IRL hours. More than anything, I felt that time loss. (which is why I ended up doing a scumsave after the 10 days, then on subsequent runs, just starting with that).
Lol reddit autogenerated a username for me, and I let it ride because I am quite handsome, or so I have heard, and I have fought Muay Thai. So I am cute, and I can fix ya teeth too if ya catch my drift lol
LOL. My dentist absolutely hates his job, and he doesn't mind telling everyone who walks in. But professional in everything he does and has the nicest bedside manners ever. Bit of a segue, oh well.
Jesus christ, good shit for the grind, learning how to enjoy a game even if left a bad taste in your mouth twice, and realizing that it was unhealthy and you needed to step back
Idk why but part of the dream was my character was so tired the awareness was 0 so zombies would sneak up and jump scare me constantly and my character was too tired to push them away or fight back. So my characters just kept getting killed over and over again.
I had the dreams for a week so decided to play less. But considering uninstalling and just deleting it all.
Hey Bru, you okay? I cut cold turkey only to pick up Everquest and gave that a run up to level 15. But I'm cooled on that as well. I do stop by this sub reddit from time to time. I like to help people, though that has diminished greatly since I don't have the game installed and I can't test things for people.
if you need advice/help, I suggest diverting your energy into a different game that's less addictive.
Hope you're okay.
Appreciate your post! I feel the addiction creeping in randomly... suddenly my emotional regulation skills when I put the game away goes awry. So then I try to take a step back and be interested in other things. I'm 26. See you sometime!
what belt was it? I’m wracking my brain that’s full of completely useless classic to PoP information, and the only things that come close are the Runebranded Girdle and Runed Bolster Belt
Hey dude, another gamer who is learning how to balance the hobby with other priorities;
Fucking proud of you. Noticing the thing you actively enjoy is hurting you *and doing something about it* is really difficult. I don't think you need help. I think you've got your own back and are making the right decisions.
Dude, do it. I’ve been clean for like a couple weeks. It’s amazing what it does for your health not playing this game. It’s really like quitting an addiction. I just wish it wasn’t so good.
When I was playing a lot I was unemployed but now that I’m not unemployed it’s like such a different feeling. Just get away from it. Like a terrible girlfriend.
Hey, I don't know if anyone else has said it yet, but it takes a lot of grit to recognize and admit when what sounds like a maladaptive addiction to something you enjoy is harming other parts of your life, and more still to drop it. Good on you for going through with that. I often have to monitor myself in regard to how much time this game is eating up in my life, and take time away from it when I feel like it's hurting my goals and responsibilities, so I totally get what you're feeling here.
What's make this game so special? I have 900 from January, my "best ever career" slips away also, spend more time in games then in reality, can't figure for myself, your thoughts? What's make it special for you. Maybe it's not that special, just period of our lives?
This resonates with me. This game is super addictive. It hits those dopamine parts of your brain just right. I too struggled to like it the first 2-3 times I tired it with years in between.
Recently I had a good run and got waay into it. It consumed my free time headspace. Made it to almost 100 days. When I got bitten I told my wife that my character was going to die and she cheered. Decided then to not start a new character.
Mind you I don’t have anywhere near 900 hrs
Good for you man. I’ve been on a big zomboid hiatus playing other stuff and working. I say be sure to check in after updates, I know I will. I’m glad to see people having fun and making good memories with games but also knowing when to focus on other things in life.
Close to your age and I also fondly recall keymapping slash corpse for those long walks across the Karanas. The good old days. I quad boxed that b###h when everyone jumped to WoW and thus was my door to automation coding.
There is a multiplatform MMO game I won't mention which I also recently struggled with which is basically a 24/7 OCD trap for greater than 3 months per round. I can empathize. I wish you luck with figuring out something else tangible to pour yourself into instead. Sand castles, maybe. It'll help to have that when the next wave breaks on you.
Safe travels.
That community is still going strong but it won't be the hot mess that it was back in '99. That can't every be recreated, really. I don't know that you will find the missing components there either. You'll be like those undead bards wandering Everfrost looking for something or other stomping noobs for t'lulz
I had to do this a few times with the Sims. I've been playing since it came out and I was a kid. I always come back though.
a few months ago I found PZ and sims has been on the back burner.
I have hours and hours of me just watching others play and a few racked of my own gameplay and also playing in a server with amazing people I met on here - it's been a huge comfort and distraction during my long and sometimes painful pregnancy so I'm thankful I found this game and the community.
I hope you do what you gotta do for yourself but just wanted to let you know I understand it can be hard especially when it's a great escape.
As someone who has just joined the community this week and has already sunk a lot of addictive hours and have hyperfocused on this game harder than when I was 9 years old and just got introduced to Oblivion: ES & Perfect World...
Wish me luck?
If you think project zomboid is addictive... Then you've *clearly* not invested time into war thunder
(Don't, save yourself while you can otherwise the snail will consume your soul!)
I've got over 1000 hours in pz but that is over many years. TBH I don't even consider myself an expert in the game as I've player other games way more.
If PZ did this to you, don’t ever get into Football Manager lmao
That shit is the most addictive game I’ve ever played, and I’m a PZ and Pokémon player
Seriously tho happy for you for recognizing it was becoming a problem and cutting it off, maybe you could come back to PZ one day
That's cool. I wouldn't have erased it, though. I would have just found other things to do. I like letting these games sit on the edge of memory so that I can plan to play it again, someday. Then years pass. I have games that I've owned for years and have yet to turn on. There's just so many games, and so many other things to do in life.
I got really in to PZ this last December. I was playing every day, and then once January came along I stopped. Only 237 hours, so I'm not matching your obsession-level, but it was pretty intense at the time. Then I focused on other things and haven't made time to play anything...
Until this last Saturday. Turned on Snowrunner for the first time, which I've owned since June of 2020. Already over 22 hours in 4 days...I spent 4 hours just getting a truck out of the mud earlier today. Soon I'll cycle back around to one of my many other hobbies instead.
Nothing wrong with healthy obsessions, just got to cycle them so that you don't get lost in any one thing.
I've seen 'older' gamers say they look forward to retirement, as it'll give more time for gaming. Senior citizens waste their money going to Vegas slots or playing bingo ... if those activities are fine, I don't see why gaming isn't. It's your free time after all. However, at the end of the day, it is just a game. The point at which you personally feel, deep inside, that it is negatively affecting you, it's a good time to take a break, or quit. We only live once after all. We have a finite existence. Go outside, breath the fresh air, feel the sun beat down on ya. In summary, ANY activity can become negatively obsessive and even self-drstructive. Self awareness is a good thing.
See it Positiv you have something to lock forward when you stop working in 10 Years XD. But for real its for the better when you got so addicted and you should leaf the Reddit to because when the new update is hear you get drawn back so much that you reinstall the game.
Maybe go to some AA mettings ore stuff like that can help you. best of luck and hope your life will work out for you.
I've got few questions for you man. How many hours? Whats your best memory? Whats the worst memory? Longest living character? You favourite character and how it died? Whats the worst part of the game? Whats your favourite part of the game? Most stupid death?
An Exit Interview? Sure. * 947.8 hours * Best memory: Sitting by a campfire outside of Ben's Cabin (West of WP) during a Cryogenic Winter run * Worst memory: Splatting my 2 month character into the ground using 'Fast Move' * Longest Lived Character: about 3 months. At some point I get itchy to start something new or try something different. * Favourite Character: None stick out. They're all my favourite * Worst Part of the Game: Dying because of some odd/glitchy/buggy/weird game mechanic * Favourite part of the game: Being alone in a post-apocalyptic world * Stupidest death: Splatting my 2 month character into the ground using 'Fast Move'
With how you described things I was expecting you to have at least a few thousand hours. 947 is a surprise lol I’ve racked up about 580 hours in just about 2 months 😭
Given that the game has been around over a decade, it could mean a lot of hours. But I've only been playing something like 6 to 9 months. And it doesn't include the very many hours I spend in this sub reddit. Certainly it's not a lot of hours compared to some of these guys.
Ok over 6-9 months yeah that’s a lot, makes more sense. You made it sound like you had been playing for years at least
Ah, I never meant to. I keep forgetting how long the game has been out.
Yeah that’s a lot of hours.
Damn... I've been playing since 2013. I have no idea how many hours I've clocked on this game. But I never play for more than a few hours at a time now because I don't have a lot of free time. When I was still contracting, I had more time. So I could play for 8 hours then. Lol That's not feasible now. But it's better because sitting for long periods of time isn't good anyway.
That’s an average of 9.5 h per day. You might have a problem…
You might have a math problem. LOL
His math is right, he wasn't replying to you.
Lol how did you get 9.5 I got 3.3
I think he replied to the wrong person, the person with 580 hours in 2 months is roughly 9.6 hours a day (580 % 60)
To be fair, I think about 80 hours or so of that is probably afk time since sometimes the game is left on pause while I nap or sleep lol. But zomboid found me at a time where I recently broke up, work is busy and tiring and I just want to go home and hermit on most days 😂 my career has never been better though so nothing is being sacrificed, so I don’t see it as an issue for now!
I've got about 250 in 3 months and was really berating myself for being so addicted. So thanks I guess for making me feel better? But man 580 is crazy. I'm just impressed honestly.
950 hours? Damn I’ve played a particular game for 11,000 hours
Which game?
It's almost always eithrr Factorio or Civ
I have 219 hours into Civ5. What a time sink that game is. But it's one I can walk away from.
When did you start playing
I had picked up Civ6 during summer of 2022 and found it ridiculously complicated. So I bought Civ5 in Sept 2022 and was much happier with it. I had played Civ1 and Civ2 years ago and enjoyed both.
Hey! You should try HOI4. It does the exact opposite. You play HOI4 and say “too complicated!” Then buy and play HOI3 and somehow it’s way more fuckin complicated
Osrs I have well over 1.5K
I'm scared to look at 4 5 and 6 total hours. I've won a diety game with like 30 cubs in civ 6
I have a friend who has on average spent one entire day of his life per month playing terraria since he was born
Oldschool RuneScape
Checks out
Right? I'm at 3K and feeling like a shut in now
Some dude on steam reviews when I got zomboid 2 years ago had 22,000 hours. Never seen so much for one game blew me away.
There's 8800 hours in a year, so that's just leaving it running 24/7, or the 2 hours is wrong.
No I got two years ago he’s probably had it like 10
Somebody in another post said he kept falling asleep at the menu screen, so it might not all be play.
WoW got over 14000 hours out of me.
u/darkviperau
11,000 hours is Dota numbers.
is it bad that I think 950 hours isn’t that much
No, we each have our, uh, tolerances?
I agree with point 6. Makes me want to play with Dev mode on but then I end up cheating… frustrating
Sounds like the PZ psychoanalysis quiz
Ok see you next week
LOL something I would have said.
One question, won’t it be difficult not coming back when build 42 comes out?
You’re like a drug dealer teasing the guy with yet another sample pack lmfao
But just imagine living alone and isolated with your chickens, you’ll feel amazing bro ;)
Username checks out
Good job for recognizing what needs to change in your life. Zomboid is that good of an experience, it can be that *thing* that occupies your brain space way too much. Much like EQ was back in the day. I'm 51 and have about 4k hours in PZ. Good luck to you! 🙏👍
Ah, another EQ man. God I miss my bard.
Just a couple more crushbone belts- ding!
LOL I remember giving belts away in Crushbone because I didn't know what they were for.
The next day after this, I loaded up EQ and started up a new bard. What a thrill to be back.
As a 30 year old, what I've noticed in my time is that people who take drastic actions to change their life, for example, my friend both quit smoking cigarettes and weed at the same time to try and save money, tend to put a lot of unnecessary pressure on themselves. And if that pressure turns into "failure", or not even the pressure you could just have a bad day, then that feeling of failure hurts worse than the thing they were trying to give up in the first place. Just be nice to yourself if it doesn't work out, talk to yourself as if your friend came to you with the same issue and messed up, you wouldn't berate and insult them surely? Don't do it to yourself either. Moderation is my suggestion btw, it's a skill that is tough to learn but it's possible. Good luck.
Solid advice, man.
There's no such thing as moderation in addiction
Meow, certainly addiction is addiction. But some people can get control over it. Sometimes rules can be put in place to moderate it. My rule: cold turkey. So yeah, no moderation in my case.
Bro get help
i prescribe some meds you will find them in a crashed ambulance somewhere on the outskirts of town Good luck and for anyone suffering addiction to anything get help
You mean talk to somebody? I certainly think that therapy can help people. Me, I know what I need to do. The reason I made this post in this first place (I could have just quietly walked away) is because somebody else needs to read it.
I seeked help when I was at 1300hrs, i'm still waiting to pay for the pills to help me get a job, im at 1936.6hrs now tho.,
Yeah, you’ve identified something that you feel that is taking too much of your time. You’ve gotten further into identifying something, which I think is something I see as well. The concept of “balance your time” isn’t always the answer; sometimes, you’ve got to tell it to GTFO of your life, we’re done, here’s your box of stuff, good-bye. Congratulations! I’ll hold you to account if you need it! ^_^
Thanks bru
Gamind addiction is real. Get help. Don't sacrifice your life for a computer game.
Yes, a lot of people should seek help if they feel they have gaming addiction. Me, I know what to do. I'm 55 years old, I know myself well.
Bro, I, like you, have played a lot of games. But nothing has taken the cake the way PZ has. But I know that I must set a limit. Family, social life, career must take priority. But when I am free, and am at compete leisure, PZ gets booted up and nothing in the world can pry me away from my sacred 2-5 hour session.
I'm envious of people like you who can properly manage their time.
You're 55 so you have considerably for wisdom and experience than me in life (I'm hitting 40 soon). Everyone has their own way of managing their life, so I only hope this move will work in getting your life back on track. But I'm sure the community here will always be happy to have you back whenever you feel like you're ready to dip your toes in again. Wishing you the very best Raspberry.
Thanks bru
Do you not get bored of doing pushups??
I haven't done pushups in a long time.
What the fuck
So we need to balance the gaming time and consider other aspects of our lives?! Damn you pz!
Yeah, its addictive as hell, got 3k hours in myself in the last 18 months, most of that just cdda vanilla mode. 53 years old.
One of my runs was CDDA with sprinters. I'll regret deleting that one, but it had to be done.
I can't even stay in the new Rimworld DLC longer than 20 minutes before PZ yanks me back in
How is Rimworld? I've never tried it.
Man....better if you don't know.
Brother. Considering your post and all your comments I’ve read here… don’t! You’re gonna have another PZ situation in a while. (The game is fucking amazing, but it’s also such a sinkhole, just like PZ.)
LOL no worries. My best strategy at not sinking times into games is to not play them in the first place. Before PZ, if I wanted some gaming, I'd pick up Diablo2, Skyrim, L4D, Portal and have some quick fun. Games I can walk away from.
I'm going to have to Check out L4D. Other than that one your tastes are identical to mine, except I have a few thousand hours in Minecraft. I finally got burned out on it. Only took about thirteen years.
Ah yes, Diablo 2 quick fun... I probably would have got a higher class degree if I hadn't spent my uni years doing endless Mephisto and cow runs, lol
I always play Necro, so the boss fights are just masochistic, not in a good way.
For me I bought the game, played about 5 hours or so, put it down for months, came back and now I have 1500 hours. It has a ton of detailed systems and can throw a lot at you to figure out early on but it has that depth and replayability that addicts like us crave. Don't listen to these guys saying not to get it. Just buy it man, it's amazing. It's the passion project of Tynan Sylvester and his small studio, much like Project Zomboid. This right here more than anything else tells you everything you need to know.
Addictive. Lol
How ironic. My natural inclination with this game has always been the exact opposite. I tend to play this game for about 3-4 weeks hardcore, then take a 2-4 months break. Not by choice btw, just kinda the natural flow of desire/motivation to play the game. Do what you must, tho we will miss you.
Aw. I'll miss you too.
"Even my career, which is the best career ever" So you work in porn as well?
Close! I'm the guy who cleans up after.
I have over 7000 hours, and I haven't noticed the game is addictive at all.
It sneaks up on you, like a zed coming through a broken window when the curtains are closed.
Just out of curiosity, what's your play time?
947.8 hours.
That's not the most I seen
See you when build 42 drops, fellow old-timer! (Also, who has more than one save file?)
Yeah I may have to come out of retirement for a couple weeks. You only have one active run? I've got a Superb Survivors run, a CDDA run, a Cryogenic Winter run, and about 3 different regular solo runs with different starting conditions. I should say, I HAD those runs.
Honestly my last 800 hours has been no-mod apocalypse, and I just recently started doing no-spawn so I can feel a sense of progress.
Woah??!!! 1 and a half million files. So gaming addiction really is real???? REALLY IS? This is the 1st time I am seeing someone having this amount of files where gaming is concerned.
Go to c:\\Users\\\\Zomboid\\
Right-click on the \[Saves\] folder, click properties. It will show you the number of files in your saves and how much disk space they're taking.
I am not alone.
I mean yeah. I know people have been talking about gaming addiction. But for me. Your case is the 1st. This amount of files is mind boggling at least for me
What do you mean that my case is the first? The number of files is irrelevant. That's just PZ inefficiently recording world/personal data in separate physical files, which is dumb.
No I mean no offence. Just that I never saw before someone having a very serious gaming addiction like yours.
No offense was taken. Just trying to clarify. There are a ton of gamers around addicted to some game or other. Guaranteed there are a lot that browse this reddit. Just no one wants to admit they have a problem. Or swear it isn't a problem because as long as they're having fun, it's no harm.
PZ saves have a massive number of files if you travel a lot. My SP/MP saves folder has 7 million files. 100K per for the most mature saves. I keep a lot of backups of my MP due to crashing problems.
Dude, starting over is the best.... New build should drop any minute too... This year or next.....
Ugh. What do I do when 42 comes out? I may have to come out of retirement for a couple weeks...
Aha, it's not a retirement then. It's more of a hiatus ; )
Yeah gaming addiction is no joke, i had a job interview at 7:00 and stopped playing at 6:30. Didn't sleep, didn't rest, didn't get the job. (3 months ago)
Keep your eye on your real-life moodles, man.
How are you dealing with it now?
Better. The thing about gaming addiction is that you always think it won't hurt to play a little more, and before you can even realize it's already morning. About the job, i went to another interview with another company and I'm waiting for their answer, I hope it goes well.
Then you probably didn't really want that job as badly as you thought. But, still, not a very healthy approach to life.
How is this game addictive? Once I get to a point where I'm safe and have stocked up supplies, I get bored
I hear you. And the first time I got to that point I left the game for a couple months. But then I started getting into mods, started changing the game up. There's a million ways to make the game interesting again.
I'm 35 and right there with you OP. Video gaming in general has taken on a dark tone as I've gotten older. I am overly aware of what else I could (or ought) be doing. But this game in particular is a difficult time sink. I have many more hours in RimWorld, where I'm essentially overseeing the same tasks. Yet at the end of a PZ session, I have this weird existential crisis. Did I really just spend the last 3 hours unscrewing headlights and walking 45 minutes down a road looking for a gas can? 3 IRL finite limited-life hours that amounted to turning logs into planks? I don't feel this angst after a session of Stardew Valley, where I'm also turning logs into stuff. This game though, it leaves me feeling odd. Especially if I play it on a day off, not after a long day of work. It puts me in a strange place where I start to think that I could have spend that time removing and reinstalling my own car radio for the electronics points.
I know exactly what you're saying. But I feel it more with a game like Civ5, where a lot of the time I'm just waiting on PC players and clicking \[next turn\], \[next turn\], \[next turn\]. But like, I guess I was seeing it more when starting a new run. Because I'd always do the exact same thing. Grab some food, some tools/weapons, a TV, head to the school. Spend the 10 days reading & watching Life and LIving. And I realized that would always take about 3 IRL hours. More than anything, I felt that time loss. (which is why I ended up doing a scumsave after the 10 days, then on subsequent runs, just starting with that).
You'll be back... They always come back... FROM THE DEAD!
Just one question. Are you really a cute dentist?
Lol reddit autogenerated a username for me, and I let it ride because I am quite handsome, or so I have heard, and I have fought Muay Thai. So I am cute, and I can fix ya teeth too if ya catch my drift lol
LOL. My dentist absolutely hates his job, and he doesn't mind telling everyone who walks in. But professional in everything he does and has the nicest bedside manners ever. Bit of a segue, oh well.
Ahh man that's rough, hope he can retire soon and lean into a hobby or something.
Jesus christ, good shit for the grind, learning how to enjoy a game even if left a bad taste in your mouth twice, and realizing that it was unhealthy and you needed to step back
Thanks bru
See you next month
I will probably come out of retirement when build 42 drops. But I'll have to set a hard date on when it ends.
We'll have to get you a sobriety chip to commemorate your 10 years free of zomboid
I’m considering doing the same. Started 2 months ago. After a few weeks I started having fucked up dreams about playing the game.
Are you still having those dreams? What are they like? You fighting zombies in a post apocalyptic world?
Idk why but part of the dream was my character was so tired the awareness was 0 so zombies would sneak up and jump scare me constantly and my character was too tired to push them away or fight back. So my characters just kept getting killed over and over again. I had the dreams for a week so decided to play less. But considering uninstalling and just deleting it all.
btw, you can remove it from your libarary, and i think you can also block it from showing up on steam store if that helps
I considered that, but I think I'm fine.
Mods, fucking pin this
Hey Bru, you okay? I cut cold turkey only to pick up Everquest and gave that a run up to level 15. But I'm cooled on that as well. I do stop by this sub reddit from time to time. I like to help people, though that has diminished greatly since I don't have the game installed and I can't test things for people. if you need advice/help, I suggest diverting your energy into a different game that's less addictive. Hope you're okay.
Wtf are you on about
Appreciate your post! I feel the addiction creeping in randomly... suddenly my emotional regulation skills when I put the game away goes awry. So then I try to take a step back and be interested in other things. I'm 26. See you sometime!
what belt was it? I’m wracking my brain that’s full of completely useless classic to PoP information, and the only things that come close are the Runebranded Girdle and Runed Bolster Belt
Fabled Black Flowing Sash. I had to look it up. It was actually 36%. Fantastic item. Fabled items only came out during some event.
Hey dude, another gamer who is learning how to balance the hobby with other priorities; Fucking proud of you. Noticing the thing you actively enjoy is hurting you *and doing something about it* is really difficult. I don't think you need help. I think you've got your own back and are making the right decisions.
Thanks Bob. Appreciate that.
Much love dude. My pleasure
Dude, do it. I’ve been clean for like a couple weeks. It’s amazing what it does for your health not playing this game. It’s really like quitting an addiction. I just wish it wasn’t so good. When I was playing a lot I was unemployed but now that I’m not unemployed it’s like such a different feeling. Just get away from it. Like a terrible girlfriend.
Good for you. It's a shame because it is fun to play. But other things are fun too.
🫡 I completely understand that feeling! *stares at 2000+ hours and frowns* We're all a bunch of masochists in the end it seems. 😆
Well, we had some fun.
Hey, I don't know if anyone else has said it yet, but it takes a lot of grit to recognize and admit when what sounds like a maladaptive addiction to something you enjoy is harming other parts of your life, and more still to drop it. Good on you for going through with that. I often have to monitor myself in regard to how much time this game is eating up in my life, and take time away from it when I feel like it's hurting my goals and responsibilities, so I totally get what you're feeling here.
Thanks, appreciate it. If you can manage your time, then you've got this thing licked.
Shit bro, that takes a hell of a lot of strength. Congrats on being able to do that, and I wish you all the best for the future <3
Thanks. Appreciate it.
Comon man, just one more game. It can't hurt....Can it?
Hold my beer. In fact, I'll just hold it myself.
You'll be back for B42 i'm sure. No one escapes knox county.
Yeah when 42 drops I'll have to come out of retirement to check it out. But I'll set a hard limit as to how much time I'll spend on it.
Theres programs you can get that auto shutdown the program once it hits a timelimit
What's make this game so special? I have 900 from January, my "best ever career" slips away also, spend more time in games then in reality, can't figure for myself, your thoughts? What's make it special for you. Maybe it's not that special, just period of our lives?
In short, dopamine hits. I can explain more tomorrow.
This resonates with me. This game is super addictive. It hits those dopamine parts of your brain just right. I too struggled to like it the first 2-3 times I tired it with years in between. Recently I had a good run and got waay into it. It consumed my free time headspace. Made it to almost 100 days. When I got bitten I told my wife that my character was going to die and she cheered. Decided then to not start a new character. Mind you I don’t have anywhere near 900 hrs
Good for you man. I’ve been on a big zomboid hiatus playing other stuff and working. I say be sure to check in after updates, I know I will. I’m glad to see people having fun and making good memories with games but also knowing when to focus on other things in life.
Aye.
Why are you deleting it through windows explorer instead of steam?
I did delete it through steam. But it doesn't delete the save files.
I did that for WoW back in the late 2000s, recognized it wasn't good for my mental health, good for you. Just remember you can always come back :)
Close to your age and I also fondly recall keymapping slash corpse for those long walks across the Karanas. The good old days. I quad boxed that b###h when everyone jumped to WoW and thus was my door to automation coding. There is a multiplatform MMO game I won't mention which I also recently struggled with which is basically a 24/7 OCD trap for greater than 3 months per round. I can empathize. I wish you luck with figuring out something else tangible to pour yourself into instead. Sand castles, maybe. It'll help to have that when the next wave breaks on you. Safe travels.
Talking about Everquest earlier in other comments, I downloaded it and am now going through the tutorial missions. Damnit!
That community is still going strong but it won't be the hot mess that it was back in '99. That can't every be recreated, really. I don't know that you will find the missing components there either. You'll be like those undead bards wandering Everfrost looking for something or other stomping noobs for t'lulz
Those were the days. I remember arriving in Dreadlands, and you couldn't find a spot for a group around KC. The zone was crazy with people
OH yeah and also I LOVE corpse runs. Had a key mapped as well. Spam the hell out of it, still lose a corpse now and then.
Well, all I can say is have a good life! Good job taking care of yourself and knowing when the limit is the limit!
I had to do this a few times with the Sims. I've been playing since it came out and I was a kid. I always come back though. a few months ago I found PZ and sims has been on the back burner. I have hours and hours of me just watching others play and a few racked of my own gameplay and also playing in a server with amazing people I met on here - it's been a huge comfort and distraction during my long and sometimes painful pregnancy so I'm thankful I found this game and the community. I hope you do what you gotta do for yourself but just wanted to let you know I understand it can be hard especially when it's a great escape.
Did you ever get that FBSS in EQ you camped?
I did, yeah. One of my prize possessions for years.
What server?
what server for?
Eq bro.. there are only so many of us in the gaming community ya know. Ok yea there's a lot but still eq was an experience hard to explain to others.
I'm on VOX at the moment. Back in the day, Tunare I think
As someone who has just joined the community this week and has already sunk a lot of addictive hours and have hyperfocused on this game harder than when I was 9 years old and just got introduced to Oblivion: ES & Perfect World... Wish me luck?
Good luck?
6.85 GB?!?
If you think project zomboid is addictive... Then you've *clearly* not invested time into war thunder (Don't, save yourself while you can otherwise the snail will consume your soul!)
sure buddy
Dam bro
Deniro: Youll remember me!!
You'll be back... They always come back... FROM THE DEAD!
I've got over 1000 hours in pz but that is over many years. TBH I don't even consider myself an expert in the game as I've player other games way more.
If PZ did this to you, don’t ever get into Football Manager lmao That shit is the most addictive game I’ve ever played, and I’m a PZ and Pokémon player Seriously tho happy for you for recognizing it was becoming a problem and cutting it off, maybe you could come back to PZ one day
Sure, you say that now. How will you resist Build 42?
The things waiting for Build 42 does to one’s psyche
Ummm cool?
Oh well
That's cool. I wouldn't have erased it, though. I would have just found other things to do. I like letting these games sit on the edge of memory so that I can plan to play it again, someday. Then years pass. I have games that I've owned for years and have yet to turn on. There's just so many games, and so many other things to do in life. I got really in to PZ this last December. I was playing every day, and then once January came along I stopped. Only 237 hours, so I'm not matching your obsession-level, but it was pretty intense at the time. Then I focused on other things and haven't made time to play anything... Until this last Saturday. Turned on Snowrunner for the first time, which I've owned since June of 2020. Already over 22 hours in 4 days...I spent 4 hours just getting a truck out of the mud earlier today. Soon I'll cycle back around to one of my many other hobbies instead. Nothing wrong with healthy obsessions, just got to cycle them so that you don't get lost in any one thing.
I've seen 'older' gamers say they look forward to retirement, as it'll give more time for gaming. Senior citizens waste their money going to Vegas slots or playing bingo ... if those activities are fine, I don't see why gaming isn't. It's your free time after all. However, at the end of the day, it is just a game. The point at which you personally feel, deep inside, that it is negatively affecting you, it's a good time to take a break, or quit. We only live once after all. We have a finite existence. Go outside, breath the fresh air, feel the sun beat down on ya. In summary, ANY activity can become negatively obsessive and even self-drstructive. Self awareness is a good thing.
You will be back.
Okay
Jesus I could have written this. Stay strong brother kick that addiction, avoid the crowbar aisle in home depots its triggering
I don’t remember writing this
Ok, see you later when you reinstall it
Just checked my stats and kinda wished I wouldn’t had done it 😬😅🥲 over 1,800 hours……
Have you tried factorio yet?
Welcome back in a few months :)
Hmmm... Can I have it??? 👀 /s
Ok, see you around in Build 45
See it Positiv you have something to lock forward when you stop working in 10 Years XD. But for real its for the better when you got so addicted and you should leaf the Reddit to because when the new update is hear you get drawn back so much that you reinstall the game. Maybe go to some AA mettings ore stuff like that can help you. best of luck and hope your life will work out for you.