ARK: Survival Evolved: Linux Server HowTo (English Version)
A quick HowTo run a ARK: Survival Evolved server on linux (Debian).
UPDATE: THIS TOOL HELPS YOU DO THE JOB
Meanwhile you can find a few tools, which help you with the installation, start, stop and update of the server. You can read about one of them in our article ARK: Survival Evolved Linux Server Tools.
Steam command line client quick installation guide
sudo apt-get install lib32gcc1 useradd -m steam su - steam mkdir ~/steamcmd cd ~/steamcmd wget https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz tar -xvzf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz cd ~/steamcmd
Server Installation
Download the ARK dedicated server(~16.5 GB):
./steamcmd.sh +login [USER] [PASSWORD] +force_install_dir /home/steam/arkdedicated +app_update 376030 validate +quit
The installation path can be modified of course. To run the server, a few system configuration changes must be made.
Increase ulimit
in /etc/sysctl.conf
add the following at the end of the file:
fs.file-max=100000
in /etc/security/limits.conf
add the following:
* soft nofile 100000 * hard nofile 100000
in /etc/pam.d/common-session
add the following:
session required pam_limits.so
Start the Server
cd /home/steam/arkdedicated/ShooterGame/Binaries/Linux/ ./ShooterGameServer TheIsland?listen?SessionName=[SERVERNAME]?ServerAdminPassword=[ADMINPASSWORD] -server -log
Configuration
You will find the configuration file at
/home/steam/arkdedicated/ShooterGame/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/GameUserSettings.ini
Simply replace the [ServerSettings]
part with the following code to have access to all available options. All options you don’t want can be removed (like DifficultyOffset
and ServerPassword
). The default value will then be used instead.
[/script/engine.gamesession] MaxPlayers=5 [ServerSettings] ShowMapPlayerLocation=True ServerHardcore=False GlobalVoiceChat=False ProximityChat=False NoTributeDownloads=False AllowThirdPersonPlayer=False AlwaysNotifyPlayerLeft=False DontAlwaysNotifyPlayerJoined=True ServerPVE=False ServerCrosshair=True ServerForceNoHUD=False DifficultyOffset=0 ServerAdminPassword=ADMINPASSWORD ServerPassword=SERVERPASSWORD MaxStructuresInRange=1300.000000 AutoSavePeriodMinutes=15.000000 [MessageOfTheDay] Message=WELCOME_MESSAGE Duration=20
Important!
The server doesn’t automatically save when stopped!
To save the world before stopping the server, run the following commands INGAME in the console:
enablecheats ADMINPASSWORD saveworld
However, it is possible to modify the time between automatic saves using the following config parameter:
AutoSavePeriodMinutes=5.000000
Update the Server
The server update is similar to the installation command, just run this line and after it finishes, start the server again.
./steamcmd.sh +login [USER] [PASSWORD] +force_install_dir /home/steam/arkdedicated +app_update 376030 +quit
FYI
If the official servers go down for a patch, it can take up to 15 minutes before the patch is available for your server. So don’t panic if the update command doesn’t find any new updates ;-)
The setup itself is not that hard, but the management is a little crude. I’ll update this How-To as I find better tools and information for doing this.