Plants vs. Zombies

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.

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

Key points

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

General information

Official developer site

Plants vs. Zombies Wiki - A wiki for everything Plants vs. Zombies related

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
Amazon.com
Origin		Game of the Year Edition.
Steam		Game of the Year Edition.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

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

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows
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)	<SteamLibrary-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/3590/pfx/^{[Note 1]}

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
Origin
Steam Cloud

Saves are not compatible between Windows and OS X versions, causing saves to become corrupted if used on the other platform.

Video settings

In-game options menu.

Template:Video settings

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.

Input settings

Template:Input settings

Audio settings

Template:Audio settings

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English
Polish				Fan translation.
Slovak				Fan translation, download.
Spanish				Fan translation, download.
Russian				Fan translation. Available here.

Issues unresolved

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.

Save data must be deleted in order to launch the game again. Steam user ego100000 claims to be able to repair the saves in this situation.^[1]

Issues fixed

BASS_ChannelSetAttributes function not found in bass.dll

Rename bass.dll^[2]^[3]^[4]
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.

Apply necessary fixes
Apply the low frame rate fix.

Other information

API

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

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows
macOS (OS X)

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	BASS

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
Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
- File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
- Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/3590/.
- Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
- The app ID (3590) may differ in some cases.
- Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
- See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

References

[Proton_path_note-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Notes regarding Steam Play (Linux) data:
File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.
Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/3590/.
Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.
The app ID (3590) may differ in some cases.
Treat backslashes as forward slashes.
See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

[2] File/folder structure within this directory reflects the path(s) listed for Windows and/or Steam game data.

[3] Games with Steam Cloud support may also store data in ~/.steam/steam/userdata/<user-id>/3590/.

[4] Use Wine's registry editor to access any Windows registry paths.

[5] The app ID (3590) may differ in some cases.

[6] Treat backslashes as forward slashes.

[7] See the glossary page for details on Windows data paths.

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

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

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

[5] Popcap framework and BASS 2.1 compatibility issue.

[Note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

Developers

	PopCap Games
Publishers
	Electronic Arts
Engines
	PopCap Games Framework
Release dates
Windows	May 5, 2009
macOS (OS X)	May 5, 2009