FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

Just an FYI guys, DO NOT expect an ASM release just after an ARK release. The ARK devs provide little to no information on server settings, dino information and the like.

The only way we are able to update ASM is gathering information through the steam forums, the UE4 forums and the DevKit which is updated whenever they feel like it. When we do get the information it take time to implement into ASM and test it. If we did not test it thoroughly enough and it caused problems, then we get hammered by you telling us it does not work.

New updates to ASM are a privilege NOT A RIGHT! It will be updated whenever we can get around to it and no amount of asking or pestering us will make it go any further. We do this for the love of the game, we do not get paid for it and take time out of our lives to make yours easier.

I am working as hard and as fast as I can to make sure ASM stays current, gets all the updates in a timely manner and also includes fixes or enhancements requested by the forum members.

I am not a fan of people who whine all the time about things not being done and they themselves do nothing to help. To me they are takers and not givers.

My soap box moment over!

jet... I have confirmed your findings in that if you level up a dino stat, one stat, beyond 255 levels it will be reduced after a server restart.

This is more of an FYI to anyone finding this thread.

ASM does not overwrite the entire GameUserSettings.ini file. The only sections within the GameUserSettings.ini files it changes are the following
[ServerSettings]
SessionSettings]
[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
[MultiHome]
[MessageOfTheDay]

I currently run a server with 20+ mods and some of them require additional entries to be put into the GameUserSettings.ini file. I have done this and use ASM to start my server without any problems AT ALL.

In my opinion if a mod includes it's own settings in one of the ARK server sections listed above then THEY ARE JUST PLAIN LAZY! They should be creating their own section like the other mods do and read from them.

As for the Game.ini file, there is currently only 1 section - [/script/shootergame.shootergamemode]. ASM has full control over this section as it is an ARK default section. If you need to include entries in this file under this section they will be removed. ASM makes no apology for this as ASM controls this section of the file.

My only suggestion for you if you use mods by LAZY devs and they include options in the ASM control sections, use the DefaultGame.ini and DefaultGameUserSettings.ini files to record them. This has been suggested in these forums in the past and reported to work by the members that implemented the solutions.

With a little bit of investigation of the forums and patience you would have found the solution without reverting to 'I can no longer use ASM anymore because i have to use some stuff in my "gameusersettings.ini" which isn't in the ASM'

I just want to point out that as part of ASM a .cmd file is created each time ASM performs a save. This file is located in the 'ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer' folder and is called RunServer.cmd.

This file is constantly maintained by ASM to include all the arguments that are selected in ASM.

If the user double clicks this file, it should start the server without ASM, but uses all the options that were set in ASM. This might be a better way as if you change something in ASM (like adding/removing a mod, or changing a setting that modifies the command line) the next time they run the server via the cmd file, those changes will be included.

It is hard for the user to determine what needs to be updated if they manage the batch file themselves.

Also this cmd file I speak of it the same one that is used to start the server after the auto update of the server is performed.

You have two files to update, so I will suggest a solution for each separately.

Before you do anything, make sure your ARK server is shutdown, close everything.
All manual changes to the game.ini or gameusersettings.ini you will need that section enabled (example: engrams) in ASM first.
Save ASM then shut down ASM.
Add your edits to the correct section save it and then restart ASM and they should then get added alphabetically to the ASM list per section they deal with.

Location
ShooterGame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer

gameusersettings.ini


0. Make sure ASM is shutdown when editing INI files.
1. Locate the gameusersettings.ini file of the ARK server you want to edit and open in a text editor.
2. Go to the bottom of the file, and paste in your settings. Make sure there is a blank line before the [JurassicArk] line.

[JurassicArk]
ElectricFenceDmg=3000
SmallElectricFenceDmg=3000

3. Save the file and close it.

game.ini

These settings you want to add cannot be included in this file as ASM will strip them out, as ASM has no understanding of the creatures. So instead, you need to locate the game.ini file. This file should be located under the same location.

0. Make sure ASM is shutdown when editing INI files.
1. Locate the game.ini file of the ARK server you want to edit and open in a text editor.
2. After the last entry in that section, paste your dino lines

DinoSpawnWeightMultipliers=(DinoNameTag=MegaGigant,SpawnWeightMultiplier=10.0,OverrideSpawnLimitPercentage=true,SpawnLimitPercentage=0.5)
DinoSpawnWeightMultipliers=(DinoNameTag=MegaRex,SpawnWeightMultiplier=10.0,OverrideSpawnLimitPercentage=true,SpawnLimitPercentage=0.5)

3. Save the file and close it.

The next step is to open ASM and change to your server profile.
1. Click the save button.
2. Open the gameusersettings.ini file for that server again.
3. Check to see if the entries you adding in the first part still exist. They may not be at the very bottom of the file as ASM does re-write entries into this file. I have noticed that the MotD section does move to the bottom of the file.

If everything went well, you should still have your JurassicArk entries.
If the section is missing, let me know. Do not go any further.

4. Using ASM start your ARK server.
5. Check to see if your settings work. This is something you need to do yourself as I do not run either of those mods.

Please let us know how you go.

Under the structures section, near the bottom is a slider option called 'Auto Destroy Old Structure Multiplier".

By default it should be set to 0, which means disable. If you set this to a value of say 1, then after the building is marked as Destroyable, a count down starts for auto destroy. This is a multiplier and I think it works off the destroy time, this I am not 100% sure about.

I have only used on PvE server, but I think it works in PvP as well.

Please be careful with this option, it is BRUTAL. If you create a base in 2 different locations, you need to visit each base within the destroy time frame to reset the counter. If you leave your visit to long, your base can be auto destroyed.

Also if people are not regulars on your server, that are casual, then they must be made aware as they could log in and their base is gone.

I hope this helps you.

Sry for my late answer. Description (howto) is for the new portal.azure.com
First: English isn't my mother language. Sorry if something isn't correct. If you have questions, just ask.
If the Server is a Classic version, then just click on the VM. Then you can see the menu button for endpoint settings on the Right.
Click on it. Now you can Select Add on the upper region. Here we go, there you can setup the ports.
Screenshot:



Now to the part for non-classic VM. It's a littlebit different.
First select your VM, then click on Network interface. There you select your interace.
Then click on Network Security Group.
Screen:


There you need to select your group, 3 tabs will open. On the third, you can select Inbound and Outbound.
Chose the inbound and click add. Here you can setup your ports. Outbound isn't needed to get a working package flow. But you can set there also the same ports if you want.



Any Questions? Just ask

Same problem here. Got forced to German. Was happy first, then i found out that the German localisation is even missing some check box descriptions as far as i remember.
You can use a workaround for your problem by following these steps :

1) Locate your ARK Server Tool folder.
2) Go for Folder : Globalization\en-US
3) Copy File en-US.xaml to Folder : Globalization\de-DE
4) Rename the copied File to : de-DE.xaml

Your ASM is now back in English.

The auto update process will run every hour as per your settings. The process involves the following

1. Server cache update
This part checks steam to see if a new version is available, if so, it will download the new version into the server cache folder as per your settings.
2. Mod cache update
This part checks steam to see if a new version of your mods is available, if so, it will download the new version into the mod cache folder.
3. Server update of server files and mod files.
This step is only performed if there are server or mod changes. A new log file is created for each server to tell you what is changing.

I've seen that there is still confusion about how to use structure decay. I want to try to give a little explaination on how to set it up.
So there are a lot of settings you'll need to be aware of to enable structure decay.

Dino Settings:
Disable Dino Decay PvE
PvE Dino Decay Period

Structures
Enable PvP Structure Decay
Enable PvE Structure Decay
Structure Decay Period
Structure Decay Multiplier

Auto Destroy Structures
Auto Destroy Old Structures Multiplier
Only Auto Destroy Core Structures
Only Decay Unsnapped Core Structures
Fast Decay Unsnapped Core Structures

I'll split the explaination in 3 categories - 1: PvE - 2: PvP - 3: Optional Settings
I won't explain how to use Dino Decay. I highly recommend to keep it deactivated, because it's causing issues sometimes.

1: PvE

To activate the structure decay on a PvE Server, you'll need to check "Enable PvE Structure Decay". Skip the "Structure Decay Period" and keep it "0". Then you can change the "Structure Decay Multiplier" to increase or decrease the decay timer. Higher values increase the time, lower values decrease it.
i.e. if you set the "Structure Decay Multiplier" to 1, then you'll have the following result:

Thatch - 4 Days
Wood - 8 Days
Stone - 12 Days
Metal - 16 Days

Warning: Always check mod structures and greenhouse too! They may have different timers. Mods like Structure Plus usually refer to the standard timers so there should be no difference. But keep an eye on it!


2: PvP

To activate the structure decay on a PvP Server, you'll need to check "Enable PvP Structure Decay" AND "Enable PvE Structure Decay". It makes no sense, but it's the only way to get it working.
Skip the "Structure Decay Period" and keep it "0". Then you can change the "Structure Decay Multiplier" to increase or decrease the decay timer. Higher values increase the time, lower values decrease it.

i.e. if you set the "Structure Decay Multiplier" to 1, then you'll have the following result:



Thatch - 4 Days

Wood - 8 Days

Stone - 12 Days

Metal - 16 Days


3: Optinal Settings

All of the following settings are optional. You can use them in PvE and PvP. 

Auto Destroy Structures
-> Keep it "0"
Auto Destroy Old Structures Multiplier
-> Keep it "1" - As soon as a timer expires and you'll leave the chunk where the structures are located, the server will remove them. If you change the value, this might not work anymore and will start an additional timer instead.

Only Auto Destroy Core Structures

Only Decay Unsnapped Core Structures
-> Only unsnapped pillars and foundations will decay.
Fast Decay Unsnapped Core Structures -> Unsnapped pillars and foundations will decay with 5x speed.