ARK: Survival Evolved offers players an expansive and immersive world filled with dinosaurs, challenges, and endless possibilities. However, to tailor the game experience to specific needs, server administrators need to tweak various settings. This guide will walk you through the essential configurations to optimize your ARK server, ensuring that it meets your desired gameplay and performance standards.
Key Takeaways
- Configuring server difficulty involves adjusting levels, using the OverrideOfficialDifficulty setting, and balancing gameplay challenges.
- Managing player and dino settings includes tweaking taming speed, preventing diseases, and enabling offline protection options.
- Optimizing server performance can be achieved by using the old save format, preventing hibernation, and utilizing all CPU cores.
Configuring Server Difficulty
Tweaking the difficulty settings on your ARK server can significantly impact your gameplay experience. Whether you’re looking for a more relaxed environment or a challenging survival scenario, adjusting these settings is crucial.
Adjusting Difficulty Levels
The first step in configuring your server difficulty is to adjust the difficulty levels. This can be done through the server settings menu. By default, the difficulty level is set to 1.0, but you can increase this value to make the game more challenging. Higher difficulty levels result in higher-level wild dinos and better loot drops.
Using OverrideOfficialDifficulty
For more granular control, you can use the OverrideOfficialDifficulty setting. This allows you to set a custom difficulty level that overrides the default settings. For example, setting OverrideOfficialDifficulty=5.0 will match the new official server difficulty level. This is particularly useful for those who want to fine-tune their server settings to match their specific needs.
Balancing Gameplay Challenges
Balancing gameplay challenges involves more than just adjusting difficulty levels. You’ll also need to consider other settings like resource availability, dino spawns, and player stats. By tweaking these settings, you can create a balanced and enjoyable gaming experience for all players on your server.
Remember, the most important thing is to find the right balance that suits your playstyle and the preferences of your community. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different settings to achieve the perfect gameplay experience.
Managing Player and Dino Settings
Taming Speed and Breeding
Adjusting taming speed and breeding settings can significantly impact your gameplay experience. You can modify these settings in the GameUserSettings.ini file. For instance, increasing the taming speed multiplier will make it easier and faster to tame creatures, which is particularly useful if you don’t have a lot of time to spend on the game. Similarly, tweaking the breeding settings can help you manage the time it takes for eggs to hatch and for baby dinos to mature. Remember to turn off the ‘single player settings’ option if you want a more challenging experience.
Preventing Diseases
Diseases can be a real nuisance in ARK: Survival Evolved. To completely disable diseases on your server, you can use the ?PreventDiseases=true setting. This will ensure that your players and dinos don’t have to deal with ailments like Swamp Fever. If you prefer a less drastic approach, you can make diseases non-permanent by using the ?NonPermanentDiseases=true setting. This way, diseases will be lost upon respawn, making the game a bit more forgiving.
Offline Protection Options
Offline raiding can be a major issue, especially on PvP servers. To mitigate this, you can enable the offline raiding prevention option with the ?PreventOfflinePvP=true setting. This will make your structures and dinos invulnerable after a certain period of inactivity. You can also adjust the interval before this protection kicks in using the ?PreventOfflinePvPInterval setting. This is particularly useful for players who can’t be online all the time but still want to enjoy the game without worrying about losing their progress.
The most important thing to remember would be to turn off the ‘single player settings’ option, as that rebalances things to be much easier and imo way too simple for a multiplayer server.
Optimizing Server Performance
When it comes to optimizing your ARK server’s performance, there are several key settings and tweaks you can apply to ensure smooth gameplay. Performance issues can affect your server and can be frustrating if you’re trying to fully immerse yourself in the game. Here are some essential tips to get the most out of your dedicated gaming servers.
Using Old Save Format
ARK’s default save format is optimized for speed and size, but if you encounter issues, you can revert to the old save format. Use the -oldsaveformat command line option to switch back. This can be particularly useful if you have large save files that are causing problems.
Preventing Hibernation
In both Single Player and Non-Dedicated Servers, creatures in inactive zones enter hibernation to save resources. However, this can sometimes lead to unexpected behavior. Use the -PreventHibernation option to disable this feature, but be aware that it will increase memory usage and may impact performance.
Utilizing All CPU Cores
Make sure your server is using all available CPU cores for the best performance. Add the -USEALLAVAILABLECORES option to your server’s launch parameters. This ensures that your server can handle more complex calculations and provide a smoother experience for players.
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
-oldsaveformat |
Reverts to the old save format for better compatibility with large save files. |
-PreventHibernation |
Disables hibernation for creatures in inactive zones, increasing memory usage. |
-USEALLAVAILABLECORES |
Utilizes all CPU cores for improved performance. |
Remember, optimizing your server settings can significantly enhance your gaming experience, but always monitor your server’s performance and make adjustments as needed.
Customizing Structure and Decay Rules
In ARK: Survival Evolved, building is a leading gameplay aspect. Customizing structure and decay rules can significantly impact your server’s environment and player experience. Here’s how you can tweak these settings to suit your needs.
Conclusion
Tuning your ARK: Survival Evolved server to meet specific needs can significantly enhance your gaming experience. By understanding and utilizing the various server settings and options available, you can create a customized environment that suits your playstyle and preferences. Whether you aim to adjust difficulty levels, manage player interactions, or optimize performance, the flexibility offered by these configurations ensures that your server can provide a unique and enjoyable experience for all players. Keep experimenting with different settings to find the perfect balance, and don’t hesitate to consult available resources and communities for additional tips and support.
