Project Zomboid Modded (with NPCs) is lightyears beyond where it used to be!

B42 experimental. (sadly no MP yet) it added tons of stuff, better performance, and crafting to allow long term sustainability. and animals!

streamers are having fun with the Week One mod, which is interesting but too story driven.

if you want to experience a taste of the game's eventual finished state: get Knox Event Expanded (Npcs) (KEE) and combine it (optionally) with the Bandits Mod and the Custom Bandit creator.

these two mods are "incompatible" in that each other's npcs are hostile towards the other no matter how they are to the player. this is fine! you want only one type to be pure hostiles (the Bandits Mod).

KEE npcs are smart, capable of being assigned to safehouses and do basic chores as well as sent out to loot. they are generated dynamically at the beginning. they can easily defend themselves and work off screen. meanwhile the Bandits are using modified zombie behavior and make better hostiles. their friendly versions are pretty dumb so use the Creator to make all clans you want to use just hostile. I set zombie respawn to 0 for realism (and turned total count waaay up), and adjusted the bandits in the Creator to be different "phases" of hostiles (only) with very low spawn chances.

they get more Mad Max over time. first few weeks it's just looter gangs, then you get hostile redneck militas, small groups of renegade soldiers, eventually fading to become depraved cannibals and scrap metal gangs. (like in early Walking Dead, you go from the 1st season looters to the Governor to Neegan). after a year the only hostile NPC clan remaining are basically completely broken cultists and woods dwelling Ted K. types

What this does it basically made a simple, sandboxy State of Decay style game. you can clear zombies out but hostile NPC raiders are always a possible threat, just in low numbers. you can adjust but they can sabotage, break in, rob, etc. your safehouse NPCs will engage them if detected

the KEE npcs will continue to do their thing all over the map, becoming more hostile over time, but you can eventually build yourself a small community by convincing them to join you. it's been really fun just testing this combo out

i also use some basic QOL mods and extra vehicles, guns, custom pack stuff. no overhauls

try the Week One mod if you want to experience the actual start of the infection! (just make sure to adjust settings unless you only want a 7 day run). but if you want a good RP One Week Later try this combo