How to Fix The Isle Server Settings That Are Ignored

The Isle does not complain about a setting it does not recognise. It reads what it understands and ignores the rest, which is why a configuration problem looks like the server refusing to obey you.

1. The setting is in the wrong section

Game.ini has more than one section and they are not interchangeable:

• [/Script/TheIsle.TIGameSession] holds the server settings: ServerName, MaxPlayerCount, MapName, the password flags, the queue, day length and AI.
• [/Script/TheIsle.TIGameStateBase] holds AdminsSteamIDs, WhitelistIDs and VIPs.

Admin IDs placed in the first section are ignored entirely. This is the single most common cause.

2. The key is misspelled

The Isle's key names do not always match what you would expect:

• MaxPlayerCount, not MaxPlayers.
• Boolean settings start with a lower case b, as in bQueueEnabled and bServerPassword.

Copy key names from an existing working line in the file rather than typing them from memory.

3. The password needs two settings

bServerPassword=true
ServerPassword=yourpassword

Setting only the second one leaves the server open. Setting only the first with an empty password locks everyone out.

4. The file was edited while the server was running

The Isle writes Game.ini back out on shutdown, silently overwriting anything changed underneath it. Always stop the server, edit, then start.

5. You edited the wrong copy

The file the server reads is:

TheIsle/Saved/Config/LinuxServer/Game.ini

Config files elsewhere in the tree are defaults and templates. Editing those has no effect once the saved copy exists.

Verify a change took effect

The server name is the quickest test. Change it, restart, and look at the browser. If the name changed, the file is being read and any remaining problem is with a specific key or section.

Back up your config

Before a round of changes, download Game.ini from Files. It is a small file and having a known good copy turns a broken server into a two minute fix.