How to Change Your The Forest Server Name, Difficulty and Save Slot

The Forest's dedicated server is configured by one file that the server writes for itself the first time it runs. Everything from the name to which save it loads lives in there.

Find the config file

1. Start the server once so the file is created, then stop it.
2. In the panel open Files and look for:

   _TheForestDedicatedServer.cfg

   It sits in the server directory. If it is not in the root, use the file manager's search, since some installs keep it in a ds subfolder.

Stop the server before editing. The Forest rewrites the file on shutdown.

The settings that matter

Each line is a setting name followed by its value. Keep the spacing style the file already uses.

serverName My PlayNHost Server
serverPlayers 8
serverPassword
serverPasswordAdmin changeme
difficulty Normal
initType Continue
slot 1
serverAutoSaveInterval 15
allowBuildingDestruction on
allowEnemiesCreativeMode off
allowCheats off
veganMode off
vegetarianMode off
treeRegrowth off

• difficulty takes Peaceful, Normal, Hard or HardSurvival. Changing it on an existing world takes effect on the next start.
• serverPasswordAdmin is what you use to become admin in game. Set it to something long.
• veganMode and vegetarianMode reduce or remove cannibals, which is the closest The Forest has to a peaceful multiplayer mode.
• treeRegrowth regrows a proportion of felled trees on each load.

Save slots and starting fresh

These two lines decide which world you get:

initType Continue
slot 1

• initType New starts a brand new world in that slot, overwriting it.
• initType Continue loads the existing save in that slot.
• slot takes 1 to 5. Each slot is a separate world.

To start fresh without losing your current world, move to an unused slot and set initType New. Then set it back to Continue after the first start, or the world is regenerated every time the server restarts. This is the single most common way a The Forest world is lost.

Do not change the ports

The port lines in this file must match the ports allocated to your server, shown on the server overview. Changing them makes the server unreachable.

Slots

Your plan's slot count is applied through the MAX_PLAYERS variable on your server's Startup Settings page, reachable from the server overview. Raising serverPlayers in the config does not add slots on its own. Upgrade the plan in the billing area to run more players.