Dedicated Server on Linux via Docker

[Manu]

Hey everyone,

I just built a docker image that allows you to run an ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server on a Linux VPS in the Cloud.

In case you are a Linux administrator and want to run your own server without going through setting up Wine or Proton, feel free to pull my docker image and have a look at the README of my GitHub repository:

https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image

If you need help, feel free to create an issue on GitHub or ask here.

[aircode]

worked for my five Server including Test-System:
Filter for "aircodes ARKCLUSTER-XEON" or open 138.201.134.179:7777

I dont know what version of "compose-docker.yml" you are actually using. (mine is tested and working, feel free to contact me via pm)
Be carefull with copy&paste, review the code it might can be broken in case of a wrong formating.

--> you can find the new created Volume "CROSSARKFILES" in

/var/lib/docker/volumes

did you add the importend code lines for the "CROSSARKFILES" Docker-Volume?

  volumes:
      - CROSSARKFILES:/home/gameserver/CROSSARKFILES:rw
  set-permissions-1:
    entrypoint: "/CROSSARKFILES'"
    user: root
    image: "opensuse/leap"
    volumes:
      - CROSSARKFILES:/CROSSARKFILES:rw

did you add this parameter to your start script?

 -NoTransferFromFiltering -clusterid=YOURCLUSTERID-MAKEIT_UNIQUE
 -ClusterDirOverride="/home/gameserver/CROSSARKFILES"

did you set up the following parameters to your GameUserSettings.ini

NoTributeDownloads=False
PreventDownloadDinos=False
PreventDownloadItems=False
PreventDownloadSurvivors=False
PreventUploadDinos=False
PreventUploadItems=False
PreventUploadSurvivors=False

[D3coy]

aircode eredeti hozzászólása:

worked for my five Server including Test-System:
Filter for "aircodes ARKCLUSTER-XEON" or open 138.201.134.179:7777

I dont know what version of "compose-docker.yml" you are actually using. (mine is tested and working, feel free to contact me via pm)
Be carefull with copy&paste, review the code it might can be broken in case of a wrong formating.

So, I built a new server (physical) and used your .yml file. Definitely worked, much appreciated. After looking at my old attempts (I always keep bak files) I did not include the overridedir entry in "" so my assumption is that is what caused it to fail.

Regardless, thank you again, both solutions worked, yours is better.

[Kronk]

Hey Modder I have a quick question. I use to run my own server in ASE and Wondered if My Game .ini and Gameuser.ini file can be used on ASA server?

[Manu]

The Game.ini and GameUserSettings.ini are almost identical. The changes are so minor that most of your settings should work just fine.

[D3coy]

Kronk eredeti hozzászólása:

Hey Modder I have a quick question. I use to run my own server in ASE and Wondered if My Game .ini and Gameuser.ini file can be used on ASA server?

I agree with Manuel, I used to manage four clustered servers in ASE and I took my Game.ini and GUS.ini and directly imported them with only a few lines needing to be tweaked. Easiest thing to do is load them in Beacon and set the server type to ASA vice ASE and, viola, you're done.

[Manu]

Hey everyone,

as Scorched Earth is going to be released April 1st, 4PM PST [1] with ScorchedEarth_WP as the map id, I extended the Linux container image guide [2] to cover these topics ...:

* How to run a cluster?
* How to launch servers with Scorched Earth on Linux

There's also a new section at the end of the guide that lists all available map ids. I keep the list updated with new map launches.

Besides that, I also worked on some other improvements and released version 1.3.0 of the container image.

####

# Changelog:

* Enabled cluster support by default in `docker-compose.yml`
* The container image can now use the time zone settings of the host system. Please make sure to pass `/etc/localtime` to the container as read-only volume. [3]
* Improved README
* Added an explanation how to add cluster support
* Added an explanation for volume `cluster-shared`
* Removed unverified rumor ("Server too far away")
* Added a "Common Issues" section
* Added a section regarding mod support
* Updated required disk space

####

Let me know if you need any help with your server setup, either in this thread or on GitHub.

[1] https://survivetheark.com/index.php?/forums/topic/727874-scorched-earth-and-bobs-tall-tales-launch-details/
[2] https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image/tree/main?tab=readme-ov-file#ark-survival-ascended---dedicated-linux-server---docker-image
[3] https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image/blob/5ff99cbd363b3ccc951b0eb473e53f365496b34c/docker-compose.yml#L24

[Green]

Hey,

I’m on step 4, but when I try ‘docker-compose up -d’ I get a response of “Command ‘docker-compose’ not found, but can be installed with: Snap install docker”.

I’m not sure what to do.

*edit:
It says I have Docker version 26.0.2 and Docker Compose v2.26.1 installed

*edit2:
Removed the ‘-‘ in the command line and it seemed to work. Server started for the first time but now the given session ID does not show up when trying to connect.

[Manu]

It seems your docker compose version is v2 already, what OS are you using? I also just learned that they have removed the - from the command in v2, didn't know about that.

As for the server not showing up, please follow these steps:
https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image?tab=readme-ov-file#common-issues

[spacebroth]

The server does not want to start(
Interestingly, I tried other images - a similar situation. As soon as the line “Starting a dedicated server ARK: Survival Ascended...” appears, it immediately "crashes" with code 0
I read other comments on this problem, tried deleting and downloading the server files again - it didn’t help(
I don’t use virtualization anywhere
Any ideas what could be wrong?

Environment:

Ubuntu 22.04
Docker version 26.0.0, build 2ae903e
Docker Compose version v2.25.0

[+] Running 2/0
 ✔ Container ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image-set-permissions-1-1  Created                                                                                                0.0s 
 ✔ Container asa-server-1                                                     Created                                                                                                0.0s 
Attaching to set-permissions-1-1, asa-server-1
set-permissions-1-1 exited with code 0
asa-server-1         | tid(13) burning pthread_key_t == 0 so we never use it
asa-server-1         | Redirecting stderr to '/home/gameserver/Steam/logs/stderr.txt'
asa-server-1         | Logging directory: '/home/gameserver/Steam/logs'
asa-server-1         | minidumps folder is set to /tmp/dumps
asa-server-1         | [  0%] Checking for available updates...
asa-server-1         | [----] Verifying installation...
asa-server-1         | UpdateUI: skip show logoSteam Console Client (c) Valve Corporation - version 1709846822
asa-server-1         | -- type 'quit' to exit --
asa-server-1         | Loading Steam API...OK
asa-server-1         | 
asa-server-1         | Connecting anonymously to Steam Public...OK
asa-server-1         | Waiting for client config...OK
asa-server-1         | Waiting for user info...OK
asa-server-1         |  Update state (0x5) verifying install, progress: 0.04 (5242880 / 11681731101)
asa-server-1         |  Update state (0x5) verifying install, progress: 3.70 (432259468 / 11681731101)
asa-server-1         |  Update state (0x5) verifying install, progress: 23.19 
asa-server-1         |  Update state (0x5) verifying install, progress: 96.61 (11285741312 / 11681731101)
asa-server-1         | Success! App '2430930' fully installed.
asa-server-1         | Starting the ARK: Survival Ascended dedicated server...
asa-server-1         | Start parameters: TheIsland_WP?listen?Port=7777?RCONPort=27020?RCONEnabled=True -WinLiveMaxPlayers=3 -clusterid=default -ClusterDirOverride="/home/gameserver/cluster-shared" 
asa-server-1         | esync: up and running.
asa-server-1         | Failed to read /etc/machine-id, error Invalid argument.
asa-server-1         | wine: RLIMIT_NICE is <= 20, unable to use setpriority safely
asa-server-1 exited with code 0

[Manu]

Are you using Proxmox? If yes, have a look here: https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image/issues/6#issuecomment-1793733764

[spacebroth]

No, I do not use Proxmox)
I'm trying to run on a VPS)
Interestingly, the Enshrouded server (https://hub.docker.com/r/sknnr/enshrouded-dedicated-server), also with proton, started without problems (docker compose), but ARK doesn’t want to)
The Vallheim server also started absolutely without problems (but there is no proton there)

[Manu]

What's the specs of the system?

[spacebroth]

2 cores, 2 GB RAM, 40GB NVMe
Do you think there is not enough RAM and that’s why this error occurs? I think it’s unlikely that this is connected, but anything can happen))
Or... does it really start, but crashes due to lack of resources?) seems to be true...

[Manu]

Yes, I think that's the problem. There was someone else running into a similar issue. Although the container didn't seem to report an OOM (out of memory) issue, ASA might have caused the exit itself by checking the system specs.

So you need to have at least 11 GB of RAM just to run the server (without any players on it). So I'd say go with 13 GB for now if nothing else runs on the server.

[Manu]

Version 1.4.0 of the container image has been released. Featuring ASA plugin support and more.

The changelog on GitHub:
https://github.com/mschnitzer/ark-survival-ascended-linux-container-image/releases/tag/1.4.0

# Changelog

* Updated the container image to openSUSE Leap 15.6
* Added a list of all available maps with their id
* Added a `docker-compose.yml` example for map Scorched Earth in a cluster setup scenario
* Updated required disk space for an ASA server
* Added support for ASA plugins
* Significantly reduced the container image size (by ~412 MB of compressed size). Proton will therefore no longer be shipped with this image, but it will be downloaded and installed automatically instead.
* Updated README
** Added a suggestion to change the `-clusterid` option
** Added a section to explain how to add plugins from gameservershub.com
** Added a section to explain how to update to a newer version of this container image

# Breaking Changes

If you follow the instructions to add plugin support to your server, as described in the README, then you need to add `tty: true` to your `docker-compose.yml` file below `image:` (or anywhere else in the same hierarchy as `image`). If you don't plan to add plugins to your server, then you don't need to change anything, but we advise you to always follow the latest `docker-compose.yml` definition that we use.