These are the options on the Settings, Game Settings page of a PlayNHost The Forest server, taken from the panel's own definitions. Rows marked read only are set by your plan or the server and cannot be changed.
All settings
| Setting | What it does | Allowed | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| Server Name | The name your server shows under, on the join screen and to anyone you invite. It appears in the Steam server list only when a Steam Account Token is set below. | up to 64 characters, no line breaks | PlaynHost Forest Server |
| Difficulty | How dangerous the world is. Peaceful removes the cannibals and mutants entirely, Normal is the standard game, Hard makes enemies tougher and more aggressive. Locked in when the world is first created, so set it before anyone joins. | one of: Peaceful, Normal, Hard | Normal |
| Steam Account Token | Optional. With a Steam game-server login token set, your server registers itself with Steam and shows up in the Steam server list. Leave it blank and the server still runs and still accepts players who join by address. You can create a token at https://steamcommunity.com/dev/managegameservers. No token is set on a new server. | up to 64 characters, letters and numbers | empty |
| Server Password | Set this and players are asked for it before they can join, which is how you keep a public server to your own group. Leave it blank and anyone with the address can join. This is not the admin password. | up to 20 characters, letters, numbers, dashes and underscores | empty |
| Admin Password | Gives you admin control of your own server from inside the game. Change it before anyone joins: every new server starts on the same placeholder, so leaving it is the same as having no admin password at all. It cannot be left empty. | 6 to 20 characters, letters, numbers, dashes and underscores | a default is set, change it |
| Enable VAC | Valve Anti-Cheat. When on, players with a VAC ban on record cannot join your server. Off by default. | one of: on, off | off |
| Auto-Update | When on, the server checks Steam for a game update every time it starts, so you are always on the current build. Turn it off to stay on the version you have - useful when a new update stops your players' game from connecting. | on or off | on |
| Starting World | Continue reloads your world from its last save each time the server starts - this is what you want almost always. New generates a brand-new world instead and the next autosave replaces your old one, so only pick it when you deliberately want a fresh start. | one of: New, Continue | Continue |
| Max Players (read only) | The player limit included with your plan. This field is read-only. To run with fewer players, click Players on your server Overview page and pick any number up to your plan limit (this restarts your server). Upgrading your plan raises the limit itself. | set by your plan or the server | set by your plan |
Good to know
- Server Name, passwords, difficulty, Starting World, Max Players and the Steam token are applied each time the server starts, so restart the server after changing them. Edits made by hand to those same settings in the server's settings file are overwritten at the next start, so change them in Settings, then Game Settings, instead.
- The panel saves a value when you leave its field. If the value is not allowed, the panel tells you and keeps the old one.
- Passwords and tokens are not listed with a value. Each server starts with one set for you, or with none, as the row says. Change any password before you invite players.
- To open the page, follow How to set up The Forest server or How to change your server settings.
