Windows: %APPDATA%\TAH Games\Last Thaw\

worlds\<world>\world.json	one folder per world: the map state, your character, bases, vehicles and containers
worlds\<world>\world.json.bak	automatic backup, used if the main file is damaged
profile.json	your settings, key bindings and name
achievements.json	the game's local achievement record

Steam Cloud syncs your worlds and settings. To back up by hand, copy the whole worlds folder.

Up to 8 players in one world. The host's world is the one everyone plays in.

Steam (easiest): host a world, then invite friends from the Steam overlay (Shift+Tab) or have them right-click you in their friends list → Join Game. Steam relays the connection, so no port forwarding is needed.

Direct IP: the host shares their IP address and the others join it. The host needs UDP port 24567 forwarded to their PC.

Every player needs the same version of the game. Steam keeps everyone up to date automatically.

The first time a world loads, the game builds a terrain cache for the 3.3 km map. That takes a while once, and later loads are much faster.

A slow start every time is usually your antivirus scanning the game files. Adding the game's install folder to your antivirus exclusions normally fixes it.

If the ground ever looks wrong after an update, close the game and delete %APPDATA%\TAH Games\Last Thaw\terrain_cache\. It is rebuilt on the next launch, and your worlds are not touched.

Last Thaw needs a graphics card with Vulkan support (most cards from 2016 or later).

1. Update your graphics driver from NVIDIA, AMD or Intel directly. Windows Update drivers often lack Vulkan.
2. Close overlays and recorders you don't need while testing.
3. Still failing? Send us the newest log (below) by email or as a GitHub issue.

In Settings, try these in order:

Render scale	75% or 67% is the biggest single win on older cards
View distance	lower it, especially in the city of Calder
Quality	takes effect on the next world load
Max FPS / VSync	capping near your monitor's refresh rate smooths small hitches

Big zombie hordes in town are the heaviest moments in the game; that is expected.

Steam has to be running and signed in. If you played offline, the game remembers unlocks and sends them the next time it starts with Steam online.

Last Thaw has 26 achievements. A few are hidden until you earn them.

Camera shake	turn it down or off
Aim dot	a centre dot for players who need a fixed reference point
Field of view	60–100
UI scale	bigger text and menus
Difficulty	Easy has calmer, slower zombies that notice you from shorter range
Day length / days per season	slow the clock down if nights come too fast
Volume	separate Master, Music, Effects and Ambience sliders

Hold V to talk to players near you, or hold X to talk on a walkie-talkie if you carry one. Voice only goes to the other players in your world while you hold the key. It is never recorded or saved.

%APPDATA%\TAH Games\Last Thaw\logs\

Attach the newest file to your bug report. It makes almost every problem faster to find.