ark-survival-evolved

Host a dedicated game server for dinosaur survival multiplayer.

TLDR

Start the server with a specific map

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland]

Start with session name, passwords

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland]?SessionName=[name]?ServerPassword=[pass]?ServerAdminPassword=[admin_pass]

Start with specific port and max player count

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland]?Port=[7777]?MaxPlayers=[1..70]

Enable PvE mode (disable PvP)

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland]?ServerPVE=true

Set difficulty multiplier

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland]?DifficultyOffset=[1.0]

Enable a specific event

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland] -ActiveEvent=[Summer]

Enable crossplay between Steam and Epic Games

$ [path/to]/ShooterGameServer [TheIsland] -crossplay -PublicIPForEpic=[ip_address]

SYNOPSIS

ShooterGameServer map [?options] [-flags]

ShooterGameServer runs a headless dedicated server for ARK: Survival Evolved, a dinosaur-themed survival game. It allows hosting multiplayer servers with configurable maps, gameplay settings, and mod support.Server options use URL-style query parameters (joined with ?) for gameplay settings and command-line flags (prefixed with -) for technical configuration.

PARAMETERS

SessionName=name

Set the server's display name in the server browser

ServerPassword=password

Require a password to join the server

ServerAdminPassword=password

Set the admin password for RCON and in-game admin commands

ServerPVE=true

Enable PvE mode, disabling player versus player combat

DifficultyOffset=value

Scale difficulty (affects wild creature levels)

Port=number

Network port for the server

MaxPlayers=count

Maximum number of players (1-70)

-ActiveEvent=event

Enable a specific seasonal event

-automanagedmods

Enable automatic mod downloading and updating (Steam only)

-crossplay

Enable crossplay between Steam and Epic Games

-clusterid=id, -ClusterDirOverride=path

Join a server cluster (shared player/dino transfers) using the given cluster ID and shared data directory

-NoBattlEye

Run the server without BattlEye anti-cheat (clients must also disable it)

CONFIGURATION

/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini

Main server configuration including session name, passwords, ports, rates, and gameplay toggles.

/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini

Advanced gameplay overrides including engram points, loot tables, and per-level stat multipliers.

CAVEATS

Requires significant system resources (8GB+ RAM recommended). Server files must be installed via SteamCMD. Mods require Steam Workshop integration. Configuration persistence requires editing GameUserSettings.ini and Game.ini files.