Extended Game Options: How to Configure your Custom ARK server

[Jeremy Drake Stieglitz]

New Server Options as of v194!

New Server's "GameUserSettings.ini" values:
//to allow building in caves
[ServerSettings]
AllowCaveBuildingPvE=true
or
?AllowCaveBuildingPvE=true

And in Server's "Game.ini", to prevent Taming of specific Dino's:
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
PreventDinoTameClassNames="Argent_Character_BP_C"
PreventDinoTameClassNames="Ptero_Character_BP_C"
//etc etc -- all dino classnames are in the ARK Dev Kit, maybe someone can put them on the ARK Wiki ;)

If you want to weaken the Alpha Predators, you can use this syntax in your Server's Game.ini
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
DinoClassDamageMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaRex_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)
DinoClassResistanceMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaRex_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)
DinoClassDamageMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaCarno_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)
DinoClassResistanceMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaCarno_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)
DinoClassDamageMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaRaptor_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)
DinoClassResistanceMultipliers=(ClassName="MegaRaptor_Character_BP_C",Multiplier=0.1)


---

New Engrams as of v193!

EngramEntry_StoneGateway_Large
EngramEntry_StoneGateLarge
EngramEntry_BearTrap_Large
EngramEntry_BearTrap

---
Hey all,
v178.0 and v179.0 add some new features for custom ARK server admins to adjust various game parameters. More will be added in subsequent versions (and of course mods themselves can greatly extend this functionality further), but this should get you started off towards creating the dinotopia of your dreams... or nightmares :)

Here's how to whitelist admin users:

Create this file:
\ShooterGame\Saved\AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt

List on each line the Steam ID's you wish to authorize for cheat commands. Those users will automatically be able to cheat without having to enter any password (you don't have to set any admin password in this case).

You can also use these commands:
cheat ListPlayers
and
cheat KickPlayer SteamID
or
cheat BanPlayer SteamID
or
cheat UnBanPlayer SteamID

To list all connected players and their Steam ID's, and to kick them if desired by their SteamID.


New options for ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\GameUserSettings.ini (these can also be passed in as commandline):

New as of 181:
ResourcesRespawnPeriodMultiplier=1
KickIdlePlayersPeriod=2400
AutoSavePeriodMinutes=15
ClampResourceHarvestDamage=false

New as of 179.0:

[ServerSettings]
TamingSpeedMultiplier=1
HarvestAmountMultiplier=1
PlayerCharacterWaterDrainMultiplier=1
PlayerCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier=1
DinoCharacterFoodDrainMultiplier = 1
PlayerCharacterStaminaDrainMultiplier = 1
DinoCharacterStaminaDrainMultiplier = 1
PlayerCharacterHealthRecoveryMultiplier = 1
DinoCharacterHealthRecoveryMultiplier = 1
DinoCountMultiplier=1
HarvestHealthMultiplier = 1
PvEStructureDecayDestructionPeriod = 0

[ServerSettings]
MaxStructuresInRange=1300.000000
DayCycleSpeedScale=1
NightTimeSpeedScale=1
DayTimeSpeedScale=1
DinoDamageMultiplier=1
TamedDinoDamageMultiplier=1
PlayerDamageMultiplier=1.000000
StructureDamageMultiplier=1.000000
PlayerResistanceMultiplier=1.000000
DinoResistanceMultiplier=1
TamedDinoResistanceMultiplier=1
StructureResistanceMultiplier=1.000000
XPMultiplier=1.000000

New options for ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer\Game.ini (these can NOT be passed in as commandline, only supported via the INI):

New as of 179.0:
[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
DinoSpawnWeightMultipliers=(DinoNameTag=Bronto,SpawnWeightMultiplier=10.0,OverrideSpawnLimitPercentage=true,SpawnLimitPercentage=0.5)
DinoSpawnWeightMultipliers=(DinoNameTag=Raptor,SpawnWeightMultiplier=0.1,OverrideSpawnLimitPercentage=false)

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverrideEngramEntries=(EngramIndex=0,EngramHidden=true)
OverrideEngramEntries=(EngramIndex=1,EngramHidden=false,EngramPointsCost=10,EngramLevelRequirement=15,RemoveEngramPreReq=false)
OverrideEngramEntries=(EngramIndex=2,EngramHidden=false,EngramPointsCost=5,EngramLevelRequirement=20,RemoveEngramPreReq=true)

Where EngramIndex corresponds to the index (starting with 0) of the Engram visible within the base game. I'll paste a list of all the current Engrams shortly, and you can also determine the indices by just adding up the positions in the regular game's Engrams View :)

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
LevelExperienceRampOverrides=(ExperiencePointsForLevel[0]=13,ExperiencePointsForLevel[1]=20,ExperiencePointsForLevel[2]=30)
LevelExperienceRampOverrides=(ExperiencePointsForLevel[0]=13,ExperiencePointsForLevel[1]=20,ExperiencePointsForLevel[2]=30)

These let you control how many levelups you are allowed and the required and the corresponding XP requirements for each one. The first entry is for players, the second entry is for dinos.

[/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=10
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=15
OverridePlayerLevelEngramPoints=20

This determines how many engram points you get per level. You should use the same number of those as you have corresponding to your max allowed amount of player levels.

We highly recommend that servers which use these custom level/engram values have NoTributeDownloads=true in their [ServerSettings] section, or ?NoTributeDownloads=true as commandline, else players could import characters with unsupported engrams/levels.

So this is just a start, but with these options, you can create, for example, a primitive-only server with an expanded long-term levelling ramp and a 24h real-time day-night cycle with higher player resistance & damage. Just a thought :)

Will update with more options as they are added in subsequent minor version updates! And if you have any ideas for server options, please post here and we'll consider adding them ASAP. (Server admin features, like RCON and in-game Admin GUI, are coming and are beyond the scope of this particular topic ;)

Have fun and see you on the ARK in 178.0,
Drake

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Here are the DinoNameTag values for use with the DinoSpawnWeightMultipliers described above:

Anky
Argent
Bat
Bronto
Carno
Coel
Dilo
Dodo
Mammoth
Mega
Para
Phiomia
Piranha
Ptera
Raptor
Rex
Sabertooth
Sarco
Scorpion
Stego
Spino
Spider
Titanboa
Trike
Turtle

[W3eD]

Sweet Thanks for the info

[Pwnlarone_Adam]

is it out?
Yay im right here

so since im all the way up here whats going on about that wipe dude!

[[ZENDREX] Storage #2]

Thanks for the info.

[Roger]

Drake, when is the wipe information released. Can't play and test until a yes or no is given. Has it even been discussed in the meeting?

[Mools]

leaving us in the dark :O

[Tobzy]

Originally posted by iRoger:

Drake, when is the wipe information released. Can't play and test until a yes or no is given. Has it even been discussed in the meeting?

yes would really like to know

[Xuhybrid]

XPMultiplier hype! This would be great on Hardcore-PVP right?

[DiabolusUrsus]

Can you please explain how the timescale multiplier works? What value is 1? How can we set it to specific minute values? What are the valid values? Is there a formula?

More explanation of that entire first section in general would be welcome. I can guess at how resistance and damage multipliers work, but it'd be nice to know what the base values are and how multipliers would work with things like the melee damage stat.

[Insaneety]

i would like to see auto server messages like every 15 mins for rules and and and :)

I would also like to see an option for players to cycle pvp mode on ingame for each player... so when you dont want to do pvp just turn of by yourself liek pvp flag in wow.

[boxanata]

Originally posted by Diabolus Ursus:

Can you please explain how the timescale multiplier works? What value is 1? How can we set it to specific minute values? What are the valid values? Is there a formula?

+1

[Django]

Ideas:
Scalable food and water drainage.
Admins able to spawn and place nodes (rock formations, bushes, trees, metal rocks, crystals) which will regenerate over time like normal nodes.

[Jayshua_Lyn]

How do these work?

DayCycleSpeedScale=1
NightTimeSpeedScale=1
DayTimeSpeedScale=1

What would it look like for my server to have a real 24 hour cycle of 14 day hours and 10 night hours?

[Kermit The Turd]

i think 2 would be x2 speed

[Shadowbreed]

so does the difficulty=1 still scale the dinos by 3x?
or is that in these settings now. We want the higher level dino's if possible, not just increase their dmg

[Insaneety]

a tool for admins to remove bigger rocks is also a must have :)