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Contribute 10:48:51 PM May 2 2017 (UTC)
Hosting a Dedicated Server
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A Dedicated Server is a method of hosting an Unturned server that does not require the host to be an active player in the game.

It allows people to set up servers remotely, such as on a rented Windows or Linux VPS. A dedicated server can also be run on a home PC.

In this case, the host can play on the server, or just leave it running in the background to allow others to play on it even if he is not in the server. A dedicated server also allows for versatility in setting different functions, such as increasing the maximum player limit beyond 12. The -sv parameter needs to be at the end of the parameters.

A dedicated server still needs an opened port for players to connect. Follow the port-forwarding instructions at Hosting a Listen Server.

Contents[show]
Windows Setup (2.2.5)
Unturned - how to create a dedicated server! (and how to join it)04:53
Unturned - how to create a dedicated server! (and how to join it)
From the Steam window, right-click the Unturned game in your Library and select "Properties".
Click in the "Local Files" tab.
Click "Browse Local Files...".
In the explorer window, right-click the "Unturned.exe", hover the mouse over "Send To", and click on "Desktop (create shortcut)".
Right-click on the newly created shortcut and select "Properties". The "Target:" field should contain the path to Unturned.exe and should look something like this:
"C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonUnturnedUnturned.exe"
In order for the server to run, you need to add add options to the end of the field. For example, if you wanted the server to be PvE, you would add the -pve option to the end of the field. A complete list of options is found at the bottom of the page.
An example of a finished "Target" field:
"C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonUnturnedUnturned.exe" -port:25444 -players:20 -nographics -pei -gold -nosync -pve -sv
To finish, simply apply changes to the shortcut and double-click it to run it. The game should run and then immediately go to a gray screen. This screen means the server is running fine. If your screen doesn't go gray and the server does not work, make sure you put the -sv option at the end of your options, otherwise the server may not work.

Windows Setup (3.0)
How to Host a Dedicated server on Unturned Version 302:37
How to Host a Dedicated server on Unturned Version 3.0 Above
Right-click the "Unturned.exe", hover the mouse over "Send To", and click on "Desktop (create shortcut)".
Right-click on the shortcut and select "Properties". The "Target:" field should contain the path to Unturned.exe and should look something like this:
"C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonUnturnedUnturned.exe"
Now, at the end of the string of text, insert this string of text:
-nographics -batchmode +secureserver/...
... is whatever you want to name your server.
An example of a finished "Target" field:

"C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonUnturnedUnturned.exe" -nographics -batchmode +secureserver/My server
4. Finally, run the server. A black console screen should appear, with no text.
5. Optional: You can easily update an existing Unturned server by using the following method:
The following text string will create a shortcut that will automatically update your server. This example assumes that you installed your server through SteamCMD, which does not update Unturned automatically.

"C:SteamCMDsteamcmd.exe +login Username Password +app_update 304930 +exit"
Configuring your Server
Type shutdown in the console. Go back to the Steam 'Unturned folder'. Now click on Servers, then you should see a folder, with the name of your server. Click on that folder. Click on the sub-folder Server. There should be 5 .dat documents, labeled Adminlist, Blacklist, Commands, and Whitelist.

Use the Commands file if you want to run list of commands that will run each time the server starts. Use a separate line for each command.

Note: You may have to open the .dat files in a text editor.

Setup Commands:
Bind - Binds your internal IP to the socket. (Internal IP is the network adapter IP of the adapter you use)
Chatrate - Assigns the minimum amount of time between chat messages in order to prevent spam.
Cycle - Assigns the day/night cycle in seconds.
Decay - Assigns the amount of time a player, or their group members, can be offline before their structures can be removed by anyone. Default is 604800. (7 days)
Filter - Enables the old name filter.
Loadout - Assigns what all players spawn with. The first number value in the loadout is the Skillset ID. (Example: Loadout 255/15/15/81/81/18/20/20/121 - Gives all skillsets 2 Medkits, 2 MREs, a Timberwolf, 2 Timberwolf Magazines, and a Military Knife.)
Log - Enables/Disables [chat]/[join&leave]/[death]/[anticheat] messages. (Y = Yes, N = No) (i.e. Log Y/Y/Y/Y)
Map - Sets the map that will be used for the server. If you want to use a workshop map, the workshop map folder must be placed in the Workshop folder of the server, otherwise it will fail to load the map.
MaxPlayers - Sets the max amount of players the server will allow.
Mode - Sets the difficulty mode. (Easy, Normal, Hard, Gold) Gold servers will only be accessible by players who have purchased the Gold membership.
Name - Sets the server's name. (i.e. Nelson's Server)
Owner - Sets the server's owner, which gives them administrator commands and fully sets up the server. (Requires your Steam 64 ID.)
Password - Sets a password to the server to keep out unwanted guests, making the server more private.
Perspective - Assigns the perspective views. (First, Third, Vehicle, Both.) First allows only first-person, third allows only third-person, Vehicle allows third-person only when the player is in a vehicle, and both allows changing between first and third-person views freely.
Port - Sets the server's port. The default server port is 27015. (Whatever you set the server port to must be port forwarded on your router or nobody will be able to connect.)
PvE - Sets the server to only allow Players VS Environment combat.
Sync - Syncs player data between servers using the same key.
Timeout - Sets the max Ping for players before they time out. (400~600 is recommended)
Welcome - Sets the welcome message. (i.e. Welcome Welcome to Nelson's Server!)
Connecting:
You should now be able to connect to your own server by running the game through Steam. To do this, click "Play", and then "Connect", and in the IP field, type "localhost", then click "Connect" to join your own server.

If you fail to connect to your own server, try installing SteamVR (found under tools in Steam).

Note: Other players will not use "localhost", only you will. Other players will use your EXTERNAL IP to connect to your server. Find your external IP by visiting http://www.whatismyip.com/

Port Forwarding:
In order for anyone to access the server you've set up, you need to go into your router's settings and open the server's set ports.

NOTE: Port Forwarding has to be done carefully. Nobody will be able to connect to your server if you do this incorrectly.

Follow the steps below:

Open any internet browser, and type your default gateway into the address bar, then hit enter.
Find a section for Port Forwarding.
Click the option that allows you to add a new port, or rule.
The default port range is 27015 to 27017, with 27015 being the connecting port.
You must enter an IP Address, or Destination Address, using either a Dynamic IP or Static IP.
The preferred protocol is UDP.
Mac OS X Setup:
From the Steam window, right-click the Unturned game in your Library and select "Properties".
Click in the "Local Files" tab.
Click "Browse Local Files...".
Optional: Go back to Common, duplicate the Unturned folder, paste it in Common and name it Unturned Server)
In the Finder window right click on Unturned
Select Show Package Contents
Select Contents
Select MacOS
Open up terminal
Then drag the Unturned executable into the terminal window (this will translate it into a line of text)
Press space
Then add in your parameters (this is the same as step 3 of Windows 3.0.0 setup, except that the program will be referred to as Unturned.app instead of Unturned.exe)
Then press enter
With Unturned 3.0, the procedure is exactly the same, but after the parameters, you need to add: +secureserver/servername

Replace "secureserver" with "lanserver" if you want a LAN server instead. Replace "servername" with what you want to name your server.

Linux Setup:
New Guide
Install Unturned.

Go to the install folder and right click and press open in terminal.

press the following

./Unturned.XX -nographics -pei -normal -nosync -pve -players:16 -sv
Replace XX with the name of the architecture (x86 if you have a 32 bit computer, x86_64 if 64 bit)

example:

./Unturned.x86_64 -nographics -pei -normal -nosync -pve -players:16 -sv
Old Guide(Outdated)
Note: Unfortunately, Patch 2.2.2 broke the dedicated server for Linux. Output before crash is:

fixme:d3d:resource_check_usage Unhandled usage flags 0x8.
fixme:ver:GetCurrentPackageId (0x32f1b8 (nil)): stub
fixme:win:UnregisterDeviceNotification (handle=0xcafeaffe), STUB!

The WINE compatibility layer can be used to run an Unturned dedicated server on Linux-based operating systems such as Ubuntu. The following is the procedure for Ubuntu 14.04 and can be adapted to any similar OS. You will need to startx in its own shell, using tmux or screen or equivalent, so that you can also run Unturned.exe.

File installation
A short-term testing method is to use WinSCP or a similar SFTP software to transfer the entire Unturned folder over to the Linux server. The folder is likely located in C:Program Files (x86)SteamSteamAppscommon. The problem with this option is that you must update the server files with WinSCP every time an update is released.

A better option is to use SteamCMD, which is a light-weight Linux Steam client that downloads and updates the required Unturned files.

Download steamcmd to the server
wget http://media.steampowered.com/installer/steamcmd.zip
Unzip it:
unzip steamcmd.zip
Start SteamCMD:
wine steamcmd.exe
Login to a Steam account:
login username password
Define an installation directory:
force_install_dir Z:/home/your/unix/folder
Download the game to the dedicated server. "app_update 304930" also updates the files of the force_install_dir you pointed at.
app_update 304930
Running the server
Starting from root, add a user:
adduser unt
adduser unt sudo
Log in using the new user:
su unt
Install wine and xinit:
sudo apt-get install wine xinit
Configure X to allow Anybody to start it:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure x11-common
Start X (headless style):
tmux
startx
Move to a different shell in tmux:
[CTRL]+[B], [C]
Tell WINE to use the headless X session:
export DISPLAY=:0.0
Start the Unturned server:
wine Unturned.exe -nographics -pei -normal -nosync -pve -players:16 -sv
Command Line Options
Order of commands does not matter.

Map:
-arena
-pei
Gamemode:
-bambi
-normal
-hardcore
-gold
Sync Setting:
-sync
-nosync
PVP/PVE Setting:
-pvp
-pve
Misc:
-pass:[PASSWORD]
-port:[PORT NUMBER]
-players:[PLAYER MAX]
-nographics (This command is needed to not see the welcome screen. Instead you see a black screen with no GUI.)
-sv (needs to be at the end of the parameters)
-batchmode (prevents the game from launching a GUI, and makes it run as a background process. Greatly reduces CPU usage)
Optional Server Improvements
No-ip Add a host
(Free) Turn your IP address into a DNS:
Utilizing a website such as http://www.noip.com/ will allow you to create an easy-to-remember text-based IP address, such as "myserver.zapto.net". Players will use this name to connect to your server instead of the numbered alternative, such as "74.12.127.76".
Register for a new account (free)
Aftering signing in, select "Add a Host"
Most of the fields are already done for you. You only need to give the host a name in the "Hostname" field, such as "unturned", "myserver", etc. You also have the option of choosing the domain name from the drop-down menu immediately to the right of the hostname. In the example to the right, my hostname will become "unturned.ddns.net".
Once you click "Add Host", your IP address now matches the Hostname. Players can now use your hostname to connect to your server instead of your numbered IP address.
Optional but recommended: Download the No-IP client in the sidebar menu on the left (download link here ). The client will run in your taskbar and automatically update your hostname to match your IP address if it changes in the future. If you skip this step, you will need to change your IP address manually with "Manage Hosts" on the noip.com website.
(Free) IP to DNS via Duckdns (extra option for DNS):
The steps are listed on https://duckdns.org and are similar to steps for no-ip. It's just another option that exists to achieve the same goal. They have a clear FAQ and Install guide for people new to it.