How do I save and restore game state on separate servers?

[HappyMonkey]

Which files do I need to take from the source server and copy to the destination server?

Also, is copying these files all that's involved, or are there additional steps required?

Thanks in advance.

[{PR} Saiboogu]

In general, these are the only paths you need to worry about for backups/transfers:

• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\SavedArks <-- Entire folder. Contains world, player and tribe datafiles, paintings.
  
• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\(WindowsServer/LinuxServer) <-- Entire folder for simplicity, but usually only Game.ini & GameUserSettings.ini are customized. Also BanList.txt if you have bans you wish to transfer
  
• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt <-- Admin steamids, if you use that method. In past games I've seen stored IDs encouraged over passwords to more strictly regulate who has access plus avoid accidental password disclosure via chat - makes sense to me.
  
  Transfer these folders/files and you've moved your entire server.

[HappyMonkey]

Thanks for the great response, that's exactly what I needed to know.

One follow up question you probably won't be able to help with, but I'll try anyway. I was looking at the commandline manager on the web management tool, trying to figure out how it worked. I had an old custom commandline that I selected, having forgotten that selecting commandlines applies them. It's deleted now. In hindsight I should have copied the command for troubleshooting.

Anyway, as far as I can tell, this commandline reverted my gameusersettings.ini file back to a much earlier version of the file. Not sure what else it did, if anything. Doesn't appear to have edited the game.ini file.

Based on this all I needed to do was reupload the newest gameusersettings.ini file, but I ended up deleting my two mods (Aku Shima and Small Dragons), and reuploading them. Then I uploaded the newest gameusersettings.ini file to the server and started it.

I've tested both these mods and they work now, but all the tamed small dragons are gone (which is why I was asking about gamestate earlier.

Kind of a messy situation, but if you or anyone has any suggestions to restore the gamestate to bring the tamed dragons back, I'd greatly appreciate it.

My last resort is to do backup restore, though I'm hoping to avoid this if possible.

[crimsondrac]

Originally posted by {PR} Saiboogu:

In general, these are the only paths you need to worry about for backups/transfers:

• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\SavedArks <-- Entire folder. Contains world, player and tribe datafiles, paintings.
  
• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\(WindowsServer/LinuxServer) <-- Entire folder for simplicity, but usually only Game.ini & GameUserSettings.ini are customized. Also BanList.txt if you have bans you wish to transfer
  
• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\AllowedCheaterSteamIDs.txt <-- Admin steamids, if you use that method. In past games I've seen stored IDs encouraged over passwords to more strictly regulate who has access plus avoid accidental password disclosure via chat - makes sense to me.
  
  Transfer these folders/files and you've moved your entire server.

You forgot to mention the Config folders in case there are custom server settings you also want to transfer.

[{PR} Saiboogu]

Originally posted by HappyMonkey:

I've tested both these mods and they work now, but all the tamed small dragons are gone (which is why I was asking about gamestate earlier.

Kind of a messy situation, but if you or anyone has any suggestions to restore the gamestate to bring the tamed dragons back, I'd greatly appreciate it.

My last resort is to do backup restore, though I'm hoping to avoid this if possible.

It sounds like the server came up without the mod, so the mod creatures were deleted. The only way to get them back would be using a backup from the time the mod was active -- Or just using admin commands to spawn replacements for your people.

[{PR} Saiboogu]

Originally posted by crimsondrac:

You forgot to mention the Config folders in case there are custom server settings you also want to transfer.

Originally posted by {PR} Saiboogu:

• ARK\ShooterGame\Saved\Config\(WindowsServer/LinuxServer) <-- Entire folder for simplicity, but usually only Game.ini & GameUserSettings.ini are customized. Also BanList.txt if you have bans you wish to transfer

:)

[HappyMonkey]

Originally posted by {PR} Saiboogu:

It sounds like the server came up without the mod, so the mod creatures were deleted. The only way to get them back would be using a backup from the time the mod was active -- Or just using admin commands to spawn replacements for your people.

Looks that way, which I'm happy to do.

So does that mean that if I remove references to a mod after "ActiveMods=", and any other mod-specific changes to gameusersettings.ini, then I lose all items/dinos associated with that mod, even if I undo those changes later on?

Oh and thanks heaps for taking the time to give these details responses, they've been a big help :)

[{PR} Saiboogu]

Originally posted by HappyMonkey:

So does that mean that if I remove references to a mod after "ActiveMods=", and any other mod-specific changes to gameusersettings.ini, then I lose all items/dinos associated with that mod, even if I undo those changes later on?

Oh and thanks heaps for taking the time to give these details responses, they've been a big help :)

Generally, I believe so. I've run a few more-colors dino mods that are friendly to being disabled (they just modify stock dinos so you don't lose pets), and I think I've had an architecture mod that just went invisible when the mod was removed and came back when it was reactivated, but it does seem like most custom items will get wiped out of the world if the server starts up without the mod present.