How to host a Soulmask server (2026)

Short answer. You can host a Soulmask server yourself for free: install Steam app 3017300 with SteamCMD, start WSServer-Linux-Shipping with your name, game port and query port, and open both ports. Or rent a Soulmask server and skip the ports and updates.

Players find your server by name in the in-game server browser, and type the password if you set one.

Checked on 5 November 2026 against Soulmask 1.0 Update Patch #22, the newest patch announced on Steam.

The developer, CampFire Studio, publishes no full dedicated server setup guide on Steam that we could find; its Discord has a guide for linking private servers across maps, which this page does not cover. This guide therefore uses what we run on every Soulmask server we host: the install script, the launch options and the ready line. It says where we have not tested something. To skip to the rental route, go to Option 2.

What you need

• The server software: Steam app 3017300, downloaded with an anonymous SteamCMD login.
• A machine that stays on: a spare PC, a home server or a cloud virtual machine. This guide uses 64-bit Linux, which is what we run. We have not tested Windows.
• RAM and CPU: we found no server hardware requirements from CampFire Studio, so treat any figure you read elsewhere as an estimate.
• Two open ports: a game port and a query port. The query port is UDP and must be reachable by the public so the server shows in the browser.
• The Shifting Sands DLC, if you choose that map: it is sold separately on Steam. We tell our own customers that every player who joins a Shifting Sands server needs it, but the developer does not say so in writing, so check with your players first.

Option 1: host it yourself

Install the server

1. Install the 32-bit libraries SteamCMD needs (Debian or Ubuntu).

   sudo dpkg --add-architecture i386
   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install curl tar lib32gcc-s1 ca-certificates -y

2. Create a user for the server and switch to it.

   sudo useradd -m -s /bin/bash -U soulmask
   sudo su - soulmask

3. Install SteamCMD and let it update itself once before you download anything.

   mkdir -p ~/steamcmd ~/server
   cd ~/steamcmd
   curl -sSL -o steamcmd_linux.tar.gz https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/client/installer/steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   tar -xf steamcmd_linux.tar.gz
   ./steamcmd.sh +quit

4. Download the server.

   ./steamcmd.sh +force_install_dir /home/soulmask/server +login anonymous +app_update 3017300 +app_update 1007 validate +quit

   Our install also fetches app 1007 in the same command. SteamCMD sometimes answers "Missing configuration", leaves no game files and still ends with success. We see this come and go on fresh installs. Check that steamapps/appmanifest_3017300.acf exists in the server folder, and run the command again if it does not.
5. Copy the Steam client library where the server looks for it, as our install does.

   mkdir -p ~/server/.steam/sdk64 ~/server/WS/Saved/Config/LinuxServer
   cp ~/steamcmd/linux64/steamclient.so ~/server/.steam/sdk64/

Start it

1. Choose three ports. The numbers below are examples: pick any free ones. The maintenance port is only for commands from the same machine.

   GAMEPORT=8777
   QUERYPORT=27015
   ECHOPORT=18888

2. Run the server from the server folder. This is the same line our launcher builds, run with the server folder as the home folder as in our containers:

   cd ~/server
   export HOME=~/server
   ./WS/Binaries/Linux/WSServer-Linux-Shipping WS Level01_Main -server -SILENT \
     "-SteamServerName=My Soulmask server" -saving=600 -backup=960 \
     -Port=$GAMEPORT -QueryPort=$QUERYPORT -EchoPort=$ECHOPORT -forcepassthrough \
     -MaxPlayers=20 -log -UTF8Output -MULTIHOME=0.0.0.0 -online=Steam \
     "-adminpsw=choose-a-long-password" "-PSW=join-password" -pve

   Leave out -PSW for a public server. Use -pvp instead of -pve for PvP: the mode comes from this option, so changing it means a restart. Level01_Main is Cloud Mist Forest, DLC_Level01_Main is Shifting Sands. On our servers each map keeps its own world, in its own folder under WS/Saved/Worlds/Dedicated.
3. Wait for the ready line. The server is ready when the log prints Create Dungeon Successed.
4. Open the ports. Allow the query port on UDP (for example sudo ufw allow 27015/udp) and the game port on both TCP and UDP (sudo ufw allow 8777), because the developer does not document which one the game port uses. Forward both ports on your router the same way. Do not expose the maintenance port.
5. Join it. Start Soulmask and search the in-game server browser for the name you gave.
6. Make yourself admin. In the game, press ~ to open the console and type gm key followed by the admin password you set.

Stopping it without losing the world

On the servers we run, Soulmask keeps its world in a SQLite file, WS/Saved/Worlds/Dedicated/<map>/world.db, and writes it on its own timer (the -saving and -backup options). Killing the process between two writes loses everything since the last one.

The clean stop we use goes through the game's maintenance port, on the machine itself. Connect with telnet 127.0.0.1 18888 (your maintenance port; install the telnet package if it is missing), send saveworld 1, wait a couple of seconds, then send close 1, which saves and exits. When we tested on 12 October 2026, quit only closed the connection and the game kept running for minutes, so do not use it to stop the server. Our launcher does not rely on Ctrl+C: it catches the stop signal and sends these two commands instead.

To update, stop the server this way and run the download command from step 4 again.

Option 2: host it on PlayNHost

Renting removes the install, the ports, the updates and the stop routine. You still choose a name, a password, a map and a mode.

1. Pick a plan. Open the Soulmask server hosting page. At the time of writing there is one plan, EXPLORER. Press Customize Plan and finish the order. Prices change, so check them on that page.
2. Wait for the install. The server appears in the panel. Its Console prints Create Dungeon Successed when it is ready.
3. Name it. On the Settings tab, set the Server Name and, for a private server, a Server Password. Leave the password empty to run a public server.
4. Choose the map and the mode. The Map setting offers Level01_Main (Cloud Mist Forest) and DLC_Level01_Main (Shifting Sands), and Game Mode offers pve or pvp. The mode is a launch option, so set it here and restart.
5. Become admin. Set an Admin Password under Settings, restart, then in the game open the console and type gm key followed by that password. If you leave it empty, the server makes one up and keeps it in the file .pnh/admin-password, which you can read in Files. See How to become admin on your Soulmask server.
6. Add mods if you want them. Put the Steam Workshop numbers in Steam Workshop Mods, separated by commas, and restart. The first start after that takes longer while the server downloads them, and everyone joining needs the same mods. See How to add mods to your Soulmask server.
7. Invite your players. Give them the server name and the password. See How to join your Soulmask server.

What the panel does for you:

• It runs the clean stop above. A Stop in the panel sends saveworld 1 then close 1, and only forces the game to stop if it is still running after three minutes. If the game does not answer on its maintenance port, the Console says it is stopping without a fresh save.
• Lines you type in the Console go to the same maintenance port, so help and saveworld 1 work there.
• The install retries SteamCMD up to three times and only counts it as installed when the app manifest exists, so the empty install described above is caught.
• With Auto Update on (on the Settings tab, under Show advanced), the server checks for a game update each time it starts. Turn it off only if you must stay on a build for mod compatibility.
• The Save Interval (seconds) and Backup Interval (seconds) settings map to -saving and -backup. See How to back up and restore your Soulmask world.

Self-hosting or renting: an honest comparison

• Cost: the server software is free. Self-hosting costs power, hardware and bandwidth, or a cloud machine. Renting is a recurring fee set by the plan and the billing period you choose.
• Uptime: a home server is only up while your PC, power and internet are. A rented server runs on the host's hardware.
• Exposure: at home, players connect to your public IP address and you look after the firewall and router. A rented server keeps your home IP out of it.
• Setup: self-hosting needs the command line, port forwarding and a safe stop routine. Renting needs a name, a password, a map and a mode.
• Control: self-hosting gives you every file. On our servers you change settings in the panel and still have the Files tab.

Ready to skip the setup? See the Soulmask server plans. Already have a server? Start with How to set up your Soulmask server: key settings.