Project Zomboid Multiplayer Map Sharing Settings: Test Visibility

Project Zomboid multiplayer map sharing settings do not prove who can see every map item on your current build. Separate symbols and notes from player locations and explored terrain, then test the exact audience you care about. The available developer reply describes controls in a 42.19 multiplayer thread, while the current Stable release is 42.21. That gap matters: this guide reports the dated evidence and gives you a controlled way to check your own server without claiming an unrun privacy result.

Test Project Zomboid multiplayer map sharing settings safely#

Map notes, remote-player markers, and explored areas are different kinds of information. A setting or test that concerns one does not establish what happens to the others.

Information	What you are checking	What the available sources establish
Symbols and notes	Marks, text, or drawings placed on a player’s map	A 42.19 MP QA response describes hiding symbols from selected remote users. It does not confirm the exact Stable 42.21 interface or behavior.
Player locations	Whether another player’s position appears on the map	The official API lists mapRemotePlayerVisibility as an integer option. It does not document the accepted values or current behavior.
Explored terrain	Whether the areas one player has revealed also appear for another player	The sources checked for this guide do not establish synchronization between accounts or groups.

Start with the information type your community wants to control. If players are worried about a faction member seeing a written stash location, testing whether a remote player’s icon appears answers a different question. Do not call a test “map privacy” unless you define the exact item and audience.

The distinction also keeps chat settings out of this test. C22’s Project Zomboid chat-visibility checklist covers message streams and displayed names; neither determines who sees map annotations.

Record the build and settings source first#

Write down the exact server version, branch, and the file or panel source that the running process reads. The official 42.21 Stable release post establishes the current Stable baseline for this review. A server still on another branch or patch may behave differently, so record its version rather than copying a 42.21 conclusion onto it.

A panel may show a setting without proving that it is active. Before testing, identify whether the value comes from the server’s generated configuration, an override, or a provider-specific control. If you cannot identify the active source, stop and resolve that first; changing a guessed file can leave the live server untouched while making the test look successful.

Keep a copy of the original setting values and note when the server last restarted. This is a reference exercise, not a recommendation to change live privacy settings. If your test requires a restart or a new world, use a disposable setup where the group has agreed to the change.

Read MapRemotePlayerVisibility without guessing its effect#

The current official ServerOptions API lists mapRemotePlayerVisibility as an IntegerServerOption. That confirms the option exists in the API and has an integer type. The reference does not list accepted values, defaults, menu paths, or effects on symbols, notes, or explored areas.

The name suggests a connection to remote-player visibility, but a name is not a specification. Do not copy a number from an old forum post or hosting tutorial and promise that it hides player locations, controls map notes, or scopes visibility to a faction. The current API source does not support those statements.

If your panel displays a field with a similar label, compare it with the exact build and official documentation, then verify the live result in a controlled test. Provider interfaces differ, and a text box accepting an integer only proves that the panel accepted text. It does not establish what players can see after the game applies it.

Treat the 42.19 sharing reply as dated guidance#

In a Build 42.19 multiplayer and dedicated-server bug thread, Indie Stone MP QA replied that users could hide all symbols for selected remote users through the Sharing tool settings. The reply also said server admins could use /removemapsymbolsforuser to delete shared symbols authored by a specific user. Read the developer-support response in that version’s context.

That is useful evidence about what staff described for 42.19. It is not a current Stable 42.21 privacy matrix. The 42.21 release notes do not mention a change to map sharing, but silence in a release post cannot prove the old behavior remains unchanged.

The removal command is also a deletion action, not a visibility toggle or a reversible “hide this note” control. Do not run it against a community world just to see what it does. If an administrator needs to clean up symbols, first verify the command and its effects for the active build, identify the author precisely, and use an agreed test environment where a deletion is acceptable.

Check a mod’s current listing before planning around it#

A Workshop description is evidence of what its author claims, not proof that the mod is safe for your current server and clients. Check the exact Project Zomboid build, multiplayer support, server-side and client-side requirements, dependencies, last update, and any current compatibility warnings before considering a mod.

The Workshop item Share Map Notes [B42][MP] currently says it was removed and is incompatible with Project Zomboid. Do not use its description as a current recommendation or as evidence that its group options work on Stable 42.21. A separate player-location mod, even if its title mentions the map, would address a different information type from shared notes.

If you evaluate another candidate, test it on a disposable copy with the same server and client build you plan to use. Follow the author’s current instructions, verify each dependency and client requirement, and have an ordinary player check the result. If the listing does not explicitly support the build or the test fails, leave it out. Never remove a mod from a long-running world as an experiment; its changes may already be part of the save.

Test the exact audience with two ordinary accounts#

A useful test asks one narrow question at a time, such as “Can Account B see this symbol from Account A while they are in different groups?” Use a disposable world or harmless marks that the owner has permission to remove. Admin accounts can have extra visibility, so use ordinary player roles for both sides.

1. Define one visibility question

   Choose one item type and one audience boundary. For example, test one map symbol between two accounts in separate factions; do not combine that with player positions or explored terrain.

2. Record the starting conditions

   Note the server build and branch, the active settings source, both accounts’ roles and groups, and the original values. Do not publish usernames, credentials, or private map coordinates.

3. Create one harmless test item

   Have Account A place a clearly identifiable marker in a safe, disposable area. Keep Account B on an ordinary player account and record what appears in B’s map before changing any setting.

4. Check the other information types separately

   If your question also concerns notes, player positions, or explored terrain, design a separate check for each. A marker result does not answer those questions.

5. Repeat only the transition you need

   If your policy depends on reconnecting or changing groups, record that transition and check the same item again after it. Do not generalize from an untested membership change.

6. Stop if the result is unclear

   Preserve the original values and leave the privacy rule unresolved. Do not try guessed integers or destructive cleanup commands on a live world to force an answer.

A setting file containing an expected value is not the acceptance test. The other ordinary account’s observed view is. If your two accounts cannot join the same controlled setup, document that limit and do not tell the group that the boundary has been verified.

Record only the boundary you observed#

Keep a short log with the version, source, roles, item type, and result. Use labels such as Account A and Account B rather than player names.

Record	Example entry
Build / branch	Exact values from the running server
Settings source	File or panel control and original value
Information type	Symbol, note, player location, or explored terrain
Accounts	Ordinary player roles and group relationship
Observation	What each account actually saw before and after the chosen transition
Cleanup	Whether the test item was removed and original values restored

Phrase a verified result narrowly: “Account B saw marker 01 during this test on build 42.21.” Do not turn one observation into “map notes are private to factions” or “all players share the explored map.” If you did not test reconnects, group changes, or another information type, list it as unknown.

The sources reviewed here do not establish that explored areas sync between groups, and the 42.19 reply does not settle current 42.21 behavior. Keep sensitive locations out of map notes until your own test demonstrates the boundary your community expects. Hosting can change who operates the server; it cannot establish a map-privacy rule that the game itself has not verified.

Quick answers

Can players share map symbols in Project Zomboid multiplayer?

A dated 42.19 developer-support reply describes per-user symbol sharing controls. Verify the current Stable build with ordinary player accounts before relying on the same behavior.

Does MapRemotePlayerVisibility control map notes?

The official API lists an integer option with that name, but does not define its values or connect it to notes. Do not infer a privacy rule from the name.

Are explored areas shared between factions?

The sources reviewed here do not establish that explored terrain synchronizes between groups. Treat it as unknown until you test the exact build.

Which map-sharing mod is confirmed for Stable 42.21?

The Share Map Notes Workshop item checked for this guide is marked removed and incompatible. No current mod recommendation is verified here.