What happens the first time you start your Sons of the Forest server

On its first start, a PlayNHost Sons of the Forest server generates a new island by itself in save slot 1, with no one connected. When the Console prints #DSL Dedicated server loaded. and the badge says Online, players can join. A new island takes a few minutes to generate.

Start it

1. Open your server in the panel. The badge next to the name says Offline.
2. Click Start. The badge changes to Starting.
3. Open the Console tab and watch the output.
4. Wait for the line #DSL Dedicated server loaded. The badge changes to Online at the same moment, and players can join from then on.

Generating a new island took about four minutes in PlayNHost's test, so the first start is the slowest one. Later starts load the island that is already there.

What the server does on the first start

• It creates the world without anyone joining. The game's log notes Creating a new save, and the first automatic save follows by itself. From then on the island is on disk in Files, in serverconfig/Saves/DedicatedServer/Multiplayer.
• It uses your settings. The island is generated with the Difficulty from Settings (Normal by default). Difficulty is only read when a world is created, so pick it before the first start if you want another one: How to choose the difficulty of your Sons of the Forest server.
• It writes log files. The server keeps its own logs in serverconfig/logs, one file per start.

What a new server already has

• Server Name: PlayNHost Server. Change it before you invite people: How to change the server name and password of your Sons of the Forest server.
• Server Password: a password made for your server alone, already set. Players type it when they join. You see it in Settings, Game Settings.
• Save Slot: 1.
• Player Slots: set by your plan. Sons of the Forest takes at most 8 players.
• Auto Update: on, so every start installs the newest game build.
• RedLoader mod loader: off. Mods are optional: How to add mods to your Sons of the Forest server.
• ownerswhitelist.txt: in serverconfig, with no owner yet. Add your SteamID64 to manage the server from the game: How to become admin on your Sons of the Forest server.
• The ports are assigned for you. Players only need the Server Address from the Overview page.

Already have a world?

You do not have to play the new island. Support can place your own save in another save slot, and you then point Save Slot at it: How to upload your own Sons of the Forest world.

Next steps

1. Join your server.
2. Invite your friends.
3. Look at the main settings.

If #DSL Dedicated server loaded. never appears, see Sons of the Forest server problems and fixes and How to fix a server that will not start. More about the game on PlayNHost: Sons of the Forest server hosting.