Project Zomboid

Project Zomboid

Retro Gloom (Custom Zomboid Music)
 This topic has been pinned, so it's probably important
Panopticon  [developer] 18 Feb, 2023 @ 7:23pm
README Instructions (more legible version of TXT file)
About
This mod gives you the ability to overwrite the Project Zomboid music soundbank to let you load your own custom music.
At the moment, this only replaces the three main menu tracks with one made by yours truly. You are feel to use it for personal use, as I expect you to replace it anyway.
Please do not use the extracted files for anything other than personal use, as you may violate the terms and conditions you signed for purchasing Project Zomboid and using the Steam Workshop.
By using this mod, you agree that I, the mod author, am not liable for your actions.

Requirements (if you are adding your own custom music)
  • the ability to see file extensions (sometimes it isn't enabled in Windows File Explorer. You can search for quick guides online)
  • your music to add in Waveform audio file format (.wav file extension)
    • also make sure it is at an appropriate volume so that it is not too loud or quiet
  • a tool to extract and build FMOD BANK files (.bank file extension)
    • one is provided in this mod (must be extracted with an archive tool such as 7-Zip)
  • optionally, knowledge on how games implement dynamic music (it's not just one audio file per track)

Guide for adding your own custom music to the soundbank (on Windows)
  • you have two choices: use the "ZomboidMusic.bank" provided by this mod, or the original soundbank from the game
    1. for the provided soundbank: go through this mod's folders, located in "media", to reach "ZomboidMusic.bank"
      • provided soundbank:
        ..\CustomZomboidMusic\media\sound\banks\Desktop\ZomboidMusic.bank
    2. for the original, unmodified vanilla soundbank: go to the folder that holds the .bank files for the game
      • original soundbank:
        ..\Steam\steamapps\common\ProjectZomboid\media\sound\banks\Desktop\ZomboidMusic.bank
  • copy "ZomboidMusic.bank" to the Fmod Bank Tools "bank" folder, or whichever tool you will use
    • note: COPY, not MOVE, unless you hate making backups
    • if you will use "Fmod Bank Tools", you will need to extract the compressed archive first (blame Steam, not me)
    • the tool provided:
      ..\CustomZomboidMusic\Fmod Bank Tools\
  • run "Fmod Bank Tools.exe" (we will be using this tool for the guide)
  • the "Bank Source Folder" and "Wav Destination Folder" should automatically be preset to the "bank" and "wav" folders next to "Fmod Banks Tools.exe"
  • in the top menu, select "Options", then "Fmod Bank Profile"
  • "Quality" will likely be 82 automatically
    • what you choose here won't matter that much, but remember that the higher you go, the bigger the file size
    • Project Zomboid uses a lower quality value, as I've noticed the music soundbanks rebuilt at "82" take up ~500 MB instead of the original's ~300 MB
  • "Format" (misspelled as "Fromat") should be set to "Vorbis"
    • Project Zomboid uses Ogg Vorbis audio formats for encoding
  • go back and click the "Extract" button and let it do its thing (will take a long while the first time)
    • to double-check that the extraction was successful, click the "FSB Info" button and the soundbank should be listed
  • open the "wav" folder and go to the .wav files that were extracted from the soundbank
  • what you change here is up to you
    • remember to keep the SAME EXACT NAMES for the files, otherwise they will not show up, with the way this simple soundbank overwrite works
    • some in-game tracks have been dynamically spliced to allow for smoother transitions, and if you want to replace these, you will need to do the same so that it works seamlessly
      • otherwise you will need to additionally modify the code to remove the dynamic bits (this mod doesn't do that at the moment)
    • some in-game tracks are simply one file, such as the three main menu tracks: "mx_menu_the_zombie_threat_", "mx_menu_the_zombie_threat_mutation_i", and "mx_menu_the_zombie_threat_mutation_ii"
      • this mod modified these tracks by replacing them with three separate copies of one track
  • once you are ready to rebuild the bank, go back to "Fmod Bank Tools.exe" and click the "Rebuild" button (let it do its thing again)
    • after you finish rebuilding, you can delete the files in the "bank" and "wav" folders if they're taking up space, but I recommend keeping them if you plan to do this again
  • the "ZomboidMusic.bank" file should now be a new version of itself with your changes
    • if you want to do this again, the only step you will need to repeat is rebuilding the soundbank

Guide for installation (on Windows)
  • go to Project Zomboid's folder for the soundbanks and rename the original "ZomboidMusic.bank" file so that it doesn't get overwritten, or move it someplace else for safekeeping
    • I recommend renaming it to something like "original_ZomboidMusic.bank"
    • note: RENAME or MOVE, not DELETE or OVERWRITE, unless you hate making backups
    • original soundbank:
      ..\Steam\steamapps\common\ProjectZomboid\media\sound\banks\Desktop\ZomboidMusic.bank
  • go back to the "bank" folder (if you made your own soundbank) or go to the provided soundbank and copy the new file to Project Zomboid's folder
    • note: COPY, not MOVE, unless you hate making backups
    • provided soundbank:
      ..\CustomZomboidMusic\media\sound\banks\Desktop\ZomboidMusic.bank
  • the game should now load your new soundbank file on launch
Last edited by Panopticon; 12 Apr, 2023 @ 2:13am