Plants vs. Zombies

Plants vs. Zombies
Plants vs. Zombies	2009
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare	2014
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2	2016
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville	2019

Warnings

The macOS (OS X) version of this game does not work on macOS Catalina (version 10.15) or later due to the removal of support for 32-bit-only apps.

Key points

For Windows 8 and later use a low frame rate fix.

Lacks improvements from Xbox 360 version^[1]

General information

Official website (archived)

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Retail		Regular and Game of the Year Edition. Requires a disc check every once in a while.
Amazon.com
Origin		Game of the Year Edition. Included with EA Play.
Steam		Game of the Year Edition. Included with EA Play (Steam).

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PopCap\PlantsVsZombies\
macOS (OS X)
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3590/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%PROGRAMDATA%/PopCap Games/PlantsVsZombies/userdata/^{[Note 2]}
Origin	%PROGRAMDATA%/PopCap Games/PlantsVsZombies/userdata/
Steam	<Steam-folder>/userdata/<user-id>/3590/remote/
macOS (OS X)	~/Library/Application Support/PopCap/PlantsVsZombiesMac/userdata/
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3590/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Use pvz converter to convert saves between Windows and OS X versions.

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
Steam Cloud

Video

In-game options menu.

Graphics feature	WSGF	Notes
Widescreen resolution		800x600 by default. Use PvZWidescreen.
Multi-monitor
Ultra-widescreen
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)
Windowed	Can also be toggled with `Alt`+`↵ Enter`.
Borderless fullscreen windowed	See Borderless fullscreen windowed.
Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)	See Anti-aliasing (AA).
Vertical sync (Vsync)	Set `HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\PopCap\PlantsVsZombies\WaitForVSync` to `1`
60 FPS	For Windows 8 and later use the low frame rate fix.
120+ FPS	Frame rate is capped at 100 FPS.
High dynamic range display (HDR)	See the glossary page for potential alternatives.

Borderless fullscreen windowed

The low frame rate fix isn't needed with dgVoodoo; if applicable, you should uninstall the low frame rate fix first.

Use borderless hack^[2]

Download dgVoodoo 2 (v2.73 or later).
Copy dgVoodoo.conf, dgVoodooCpl.exe, \MS\x86\D3DImm.dll, and \MS\x86\DDraw.dll to <path-to-game>.
Open dgVoodoo.conf with a text editor.
Find FullscreenAttributes = under [GeneralExt].
Append fake to it, so it looks like FullscreenAttributes = fake.
Change DisableAltEnterToToggleScreenMode = true to DisableAltEnterToToggleScreenMode = false under [DirectX].
Save changes. The game should run in borderless fullscreen now.
If the game doesn't run in borderless fullscreen run it in Windows XP (Service Pack 2) compatibility mode.

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Removes pixelation effect and smoothes game out, to look similarly to newer releases.

Works with PvZWidescreen mod.

Can fix low framerate issues on Windows 8 and newer on some machines.

Use WineD3D^[3]
Download latest release from here. Unpack the `ddraw.dll`, `wined3d.dll` (and `libwine.dll` if you're using 4.5 staging or older builds) to the <path-to-game>. Run the game and check `3D Acceleration` in the game's settings.

Input

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping		This game requires mouse not keyboard
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support

Controller types

Audio

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Stereo only.
Subtitles		All in-game dialogues are mumbling and always subtitled. The music video played at the end of the game has English voice acting and its lyrics is always displayed.
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
French				Fan translation, download.
German				Fan translation, download.
Italian				Fan translation, download.
Polish				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Fan translation, download.
Slovak				Fan translation, download.
Spanish				Fan translation, download.
Brazilian Portuguese				Fan translation, download.

Issues fixed

BASS_ChannelSetAttributes function not found in bass.dll

Rename bass.dll^[4]^[5]^[6]
Rename any `bass.dll` file(s) found in these locations: `%WINDIR%\`, `%WINDIR%\System32\` and `%WINDIR%\SysWow64\` If this causes issues with the program that installed `bass.dll` there, rename the file(s) back to `bass.dll`

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP^{[citation needed]}

Unable to load Steam.dll

Verify integrity of game cache^{[citation needed]}

Run the game in compatibility mode for Windows XP SP2, and as an administrator^{[citation needed]}

Delete/rename Steam.dll^{[citation needed]}
Exit the Steam client. Go to the Steam installation folder. Delete or rename `Steam.dll` Launch the Steam client and let it update.

Invalid Command Line Parameter: -changedir

Add -changedir parameter^{[citation needed]}
Right-click the game in the Steam client and choose Properties. Click Set Launch Options and add `-changedir` Click OK to save the changes.

Low frame rate in fullscreen mode

This game has frame rate issues in fullscreen mode on Windows 8 and later.

Install dgVoodoo 2^[2]

Apply the low-framerate fix
Download the low frame rate fix. Extract the files from the .zip into the `<path-to-game>`. Run the Install.bat as administrator to apply the fix.

Use WineD3D

Error reading user file: Failed reading file

This is an error that occurs when the save game data is corrupted, likely as a result of syncing saves between Windows and OS X and launching the game.

Use pvz converter to convert saves^[7]

Completing the Ice Level

Ice Level is one of the 17 hidden mini-games in the Limbo Page.^[8] With no zombies (or nearly anything for that matter), you need to hack the game in order to win this level.

Hacking the game manually^[9]
Close Plants vs. Zombies if it is open. Open `user1.dat` (located here) with a hex editor such as HxD. Go to offset `0B4`, change the data from `00` to `01`, and save. The next time when you open the Limbo Page, there should be a trophy mark on the Ice Level button.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
DirectDraw	7
OpenGL		OS X only.
Software renderer

Executable	PPC	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)				This 32-bit-only macOS game does not work* on macOS Catalina (10.15) or later.*

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	BASS

Original Dancing Zombie

The design for the Dancing Zombie was changed shortly after the game's release; this fan patch restores the original design for those who prefer it.

Cosmetic-based tweaks

Type these during gameplay^[10]

Cheat	Description
pinata	Showers candy when a zombie dies
trickedout	Alternate lawn mower appearance
future	Gives zombies futuristic shades
dance	Makes the zombies dance
sukhbir	Toggles the zombie's "call for brains" sound
daisies	Zombies leave small daisies behind when killed
mustache	Zombies now have mustaches

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum
Operating system (OS)	XP
Processor (CPU)	1.2 GHz
System memory (RAM)	512 MB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	65 MB
Video card (GPU)	128 MB of VRAM DirectX 8 compatible

macOS (OS X)
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10.4.11	10.5.8 - 10.6.x
Processor (CPU)	1.66 GHz Dual Core
System memory (RAM)	1 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	50 MB
Video card (GPU)	64 MB of VRAM

Notes

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/3590/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (3590) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.
↑ When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

References

[Proton_path_note-2] 1.0 ^1.1 File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data (use Wine regedit to access Windows registry paths). Games with Steam Cloud support may store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/3590/ in addition to or instead of this directory. The app ID (3590) may differ in some cases. Treat backslashes as forward slashes. See the glossary page for details.

[gamedir-3] When running this game without elevated privileges (Run as administrator option), write operations against a location below %PROGRAMFILES%, %PROGRAMDATA%, or %WINDIR% might be redirected to %LOCALAPPDATA%\VirtualStore on Windows Vista and later (more details).

[1] Plants vs. Zombies XBOX 360 Longplay/Walkthrough/Playthrough

[Keith-4] 2.0 ^2.1 Verified by User:Keith on 2021-02-27

[5] SteamSolo - How to fix “Resolution Problem for Plants vs Zombies”

[6] Error with bass.dll :: Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year General Discussions

[7] Bass.dll error - Steam Users' Forums (retrieved)

[8] Popcap framework and BASS 2.1 compatibility issue.

[9] Fix: Crash on startup, Corrupt save (Mac) :: Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year General Discussions

[10] Canceled mini-games | Plants vs. Zombies Wiki | Fandom

[11] Ice Level | Plants vs. Zombies Wiki | Fandom

[12] Plants vs Zombies Cheats

[1]

[Note 1]

[Note 2]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

Developers

	PopCap Games
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	PopCap Games Framework
Release dates
Windows	May 5, 2009
macOS (OS X)	May 5, 2009
Reception
Metacritic	87
IGDB	85
Taxonomy
Microtransactions	None
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	Bird's-eye view
Controls	Point and select
Genres	Tower defense
Art styles	Cartoon
Themes	Fantasy, Zombies
Series	Plants vs. Zombies