The Best Cars In the Biz

What do you do when you're not doing this?

I am a freelance 2D/3D artist, i deal with graphics all day long, but unlike with pz, there are usually no blood, rust or scratches involved.

Did you have any of these skills before Zomboid, or did you learn through developing mods/frameworks?

I got into 3D very early in my life, before i even saw any 3D games, my uncle introduced me to AutoCAD and MS Paint and that day changed my life forever. Since PCs were very slow back then, i focused on 2D, but later when 3D became something you could do at home, i got into that too. I modded some games for personal use over the years, and had a background in 2D/3D already, even some coding, so when i got into PZ, it did help, but i was not a big fan of lua and scripts, but i got used to them with time.

How long have you been at it, and what was the first thing you shipped that actually worked for Zomboid?

The first thing i actually made is the first mod in my Steam Workshop, 91 Range Rover. I think i stared working on it in January of 2021. I still have the first screenshot of it from the day i have managed to make it show up in PZ. https://i.imgur.com/stsxqOv.jpeg (here it is if you want to use it or not)

What made you go from "I play this game" to "I'm going to make something for this game"?

I got back in the game after a big pause, got hooked again, had some free time and decided to try and make a mod for fun. I just wanted to try and make a car i like for my favorite game so i can transport logs to my North Muldraugh warehouse with style.

Do you remember the moment you realized people were actually using your work?

At the end of a tutorial i was following there was a section explaining how to publish a mod on Steam, i ignored it, but got back to it when my friends pushed me to publish the Rover, i never had any plans to do it initially. I was sure it will get 5 downloads maybe, since i had no idea about PZ modding community, never used mods or anything. I made a post on PZ reddit, to inform those potential 5 people of my mod and went to sleep. In the next few days i got thousands of downloads and an avalanche of comments telling me to make more, giving me suggestions for my next mod. It was a huge shock and an awesome feeling. After that i just started making random cars when i had time and here we are.

Walk me through your setup. What tools/software/process do you use?

I start with an in-depth research of the vehicle, get all the references and info i can. Then i start modeling from a very simple shape and adding details as i go, always planning ahead and trying to imagine how the thing will look eventually. After that comes the most fun part, UV mapping everything and making it all fit in a few 512x512 textures. It is always a challenge and people usually hate it, but i love it. After that comes the texturing, the step where all the fine details come in and i can finally see if i did everything right or if i need to go back. After all the textures are in place, i do the file setup, make all the scripts and adjust all the code and then test everything. I used many tools for 2D and 3D over the years but i eventually settled for Blender (nothing beats free software and those keyboard shortcuts) for 3D stuff, Photoshop for drawing textures and VS Code for everything else.

Where does an idea start for you? A new potential game mechanic, a bug, a screenshot in your head? Just wanting to do something cool?

I get my inspiration while researching vehicles in general, watchin movies, talking about cars with people, on the street. I have a list of ideas, it is scary long.

How many hours goes into your work? Per mod, per week, per month, however you want to describe it.

I never calculated actual time i put into one mod since i work on multiple things all the time, and every mod is different but it takes roughly a month to make one mod, in that time i work on other things too, fix bugs and add stuff to other mods, do stuff not related to PZ and so on. I try to keep it in that timeframe so it doesn't drag out for too long and i also don't rush it since i believe it takes time make things right.

Was there ever a time you spent weeks working on something just to throw it out?

Oh yes! I have some projects that will probably never see the light of day, it is a part of creative process.

What does burnout look like for you, and what are the things that contribute to burnout the most?

I try to pace myself, do multiple different things at the same time and sometimes take some time off. If i do a lot of one thing over and over i can start feeling tired and bored and lose motivation.

What's the part of your work nobody notices but you're proudest of?

I like adding small details i find while researching vehicles, sometimes it takes years for people to find it and then someone posts it somewhere and someone links it to me and it makes my day.

What's the most useful thing a player or the community has ever done for you?

A guy commented on my P19A mod, we started talking about military vehicles, became good friends, later he started helping me with small code improvements, it snowballed and he did amazing work that helped make my mods what they are today, big shoutout to bikinihorst!

What's the most damaging or discouraging thing a player or the community has ever done to you?

There are many stories of evil people just being evil but they are not worth mentioning.

What should real support actually look like?

Just patience and some respect, i have seen so many good modders quit because people abused them with pressure about updates, other modders stealing their work and then community taking the thief's side just because they don't want the stolen mod to go away, things like that hit hard.

What mod author is underappreciated or should be known?

I don't want to pick any favorites, there are some really talented people out there, i personally always enjoy new maps the most, so shoutout to the mapping community!

What needs to change in the way players, server owners, or the community in general treat mod authors?

Community needs to remember from time to time that we are humans too, we have a bunch of things to deal with outside of PZ too, it takes time to make/fix things.

Anything else you want people to know

If anyone made it to the end of my ramblings, cheers to you!