True Weight

This mod is designed to bring more realism to the weight system in Project Zomboid b42.

In the new b42 version, many items have been added or changed, but we still have a major problem with the game’s unbalanced weight system.

Simple pieces of clothing that weigh as much as lead, a cotton ball as heavy as a strip of fabric, a box of nails heavier than a metal bar; And we can’t fail to mention the effect that volume has on an item’s storage capacity—for example, a small backpack can hold 150 “Cotton Balls” or 10 “Iron Pipes” (assuming each item “Cotton Ball” containing 3 cotton balls, which would total about 0.45 kg and 4.5 L in real life. The “Metal Pipe,” on the other hand, would weigh ~16 kg and occupy 2.5 L) yet carry the same penalty (3.8 Encumbrance, 15 backpack capacity with a 70% reduction) in the game’s weight system. This disproportionately affects the overload mechanic and, consequently, wears down the character’s body more than it actually should. This is just one example, but there are hundreds of other similar situations that are frustrating and cause a lot of inconvenience for us players, which is why I created this mod.

The mod introduces changes to the main unbalanced items used by players, such as clothing, medicines, books, bottles, tools, and much more. We have 1,629 balanced items (modified presets) and up to 5,092 items that can be modified across all 136 categories in the game. These include individual changes (unique ID), partial changes (ID containing a specific value), and modifications to entire categories (Literature, Skill Books, and Magazines).

NOTE: *Due to the search mechanism used (category and character filters on IDs), there is a possibility that the mod may automatically affect the weight of another item added by a mod or if new items are added in future versions.*

If you have any questions or feedback, please post a comment or start a discussion so we can talk about improvements to this mod; I'd be extremely grateful to discuss it.

This mod is still in development, and we’re continuing to add new improvements. We appreciate your understanding if any changes occur that affect your current gameplay. If you encounter any errors or crashes, please let us know so we can resolve them as quickly as possible. I’m just one person working on this mod, so future updates may not be very extensive, and it might take a while to fix any bugs. I appreciate everyone’s patience.

Release date on the Workshop: July 20, 2026

Link to the spreadsheet with the modified items: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1lKX55V2qAyv13Z0Y0DkMHfVOuu1sIxRxcQqJRLZMuxA/edit?usp=sharing

Workshop ID: 3768669395 Mod ID: TrueWeight