Abiotic Factor Server Hosting

What is an Abiotic Factor dedicated server, and who is it for?

The Abiotic Factor dedicated server is the official software Deep Field Games released for its co-op survival game, running the world independently of any player's PC. Installation, launch parameters, sandbox settings and save transfer are documented on the developer's official GitHub wiki. The server is a separate tool on Steam, downloaded with SteamCMD via an anonymous login and app_update 2857200 validate.

When you host on your own PC the world is only online while you are; friends can't explore the facility or craft while you are away. A dedicated server keeps the world up, frees the host's PC from carrying graphics and server load at once, and keeps progress in one safe place.

This model is ideal for a small team of scientists who play at different times: the game is balanced for small groups, so the server is usually a shared space for a few friends.

How many resources does an Abiotic Factor server need?

Deep Field Games doesn't publish fixed hardware requirements for the dedicated server on its official wiki; the table above is an estimate based on the game's Unreal Engine foundation and small-group design. As the server runs on Windows, also account for the OS's own memory use.

• Player count: the official documentation says the player limit can be set from 1 to 24, but more than 6 is not recommended and joining players see a warning. That's why the last row of the table is marked “above the recommended limit”.
• CPU: the official wiki recommends the -useperfthreads parameter, which forces performance threads on the CPU. Dedicated cores reduce stutter during enemy waves and heavy crafting.
• Disk: server files and updates take space; leave room for world saves and backups. NVMe storage shortens loading between facility sectors.

Watch memory and CPU in Task Manager during the first weeks; if resources approach the limit, moving up a package costs far less than crashes mid-session.

If your team connects from Türkiye, a nearby data center reduces the lag you feel in melee and while setting traps. The game's network traffic is low; what matters is connection stability. A player with packet loss sees enemies “teleport”, and in that case the problem is usually their home network, not the server.

Should you choose a ready-made package or a VDS for Abiotic Factor?

This page shows VDS packages for Abiotic Factor: you can install the server yourself or request a ready-made setup through a support ticket. As the official server software is released for Windows only, using your VDS with Windows Server is the most direct path: connect over Remote Desktop, run SteamCMD and prepare the launch file.

• Cores and memory are reserved for you, so neighbouring loads don't affect your game.
• You have full control over launch parameters, sandbox settings and the save folder.
• You can run a second world on different ports to try new sandbox settings without touching your main save.

For Windows Server licensing see operating system licenses. For a detailed comparison see game server package or VDS. Choose a package from the live table to fit your team size; resources can be increased later. For a small team, growing step by step based on usage is usually more economical than an oversized server.

Which parameters do you start an Abiotic Factor server with?

The server is configured through launch parameters for AbioticFactorServer-Win64-Shipping.exe in the AbioticFactor\Binaries\Win64\ folder; the official quick-start guide recommends creating a RunServer.bat file in the same folder. The main parameters documented on the official wiki are:

Sample launch line:

AbioticFactorServer-Win64-Shipping.exe -log -newconsole -useperfthreads -MaxServerPlayers=6 -PORT=7777 -QueryPort=27015 -SteamServerName=MyServer -ServerPassword=join -AdminPassword=admin

The official wiki explicitly says not to run the server with -NOSTEAM.

How do you manage sandbox settings and the admin list?

In Abiotic Factor the game rules are set by sandbox settings kept separately for each world; according to the official wiki the settings file is created in each world save's own folder, and -SandboxIniPath= can point to another file relative to the Saved folder. Sandbox settings cover enemy difficulty, resource amounts, death penalties and similar balance options; they are listed on the wiki's “Sandbox Options” page.

• By password: when -AdminPassword= is set, players can become admin with that password. The official wiki recommends this method especially for console players.
• By Steam ID: add Moderator=SteamID lines to the [Moderators] section of AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Admin.ini. This method can't be used for Xbox and PlayStation players.

You can change sandbox settings after the world has started, but changing the balance midway affects the team's experience; discuss changes first and shut the server down before editing. Back up the world folder before each change so an unpopular setting is easy to undo. Because settings are per world, you can keep a relaxed exploration world and a tough survival world in separate folders and choose which to open with -WorldSaveName.

How do you move a single-player save to the server?

According to the official wiki, single-player or player-hosted saves played through Steam are compatible with the dedicated server and can be moved directly. PlayStation 5, Xbox and Windows Game Pass saves cannot be used on a dedicated server.

1. Find the local save: open the folder named after your Steam ID in %LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\; each subfolder under Worlds is a world.
2. Copy it to the server: copy the world folder to AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\Worlds\ on the server. If the folder doesn't exist, start the server once to create it.
3. Select the world: rename the folder to Cascade, or keep its name and point to it with -WorldSaveName=.
4. Start and check: connect and confirm your base, inventory and research progress are in place.

Back up both the local save and the server world before moving. Use Remote Desktop drive sharing for the transfer; compressing large folders first speeds it up. In a player-hosted world the host's character and inventory may be stored differently from other players', so ask everyone to connect once and check their inventory, and don't delete the local save until checks are complete.

Which ports should be opened for an Abiotic Factor server?

The official quick-start example uses game port 7777 and query port 27015, and recommends forwarding both if the server doesn't appear in the browser. The official wiki states that the game port requires forwarding, while the query port is optional but recommended for being listed on Steam.

• Create inbound rules for the game and query ports; community guides say these ports use UDP.
• If you changed ports, update the rules to match the launch parameters.
• If you run a second world on the same server, give it a different game and query port.
• For a server visible only on LAN, use -LANOnly; the official wiki notes that port 14001 must not be blocked in this mode.

Don't forget to protect the Remote Desktop port too: leaving RDP open to everyone on the default port is a bigger risk than the game server itself.

How do you manage cross-platform play on an Abiotic Factor server?

By default the Abiotic Factor dedicated server can accept players from different platforms; the official wiki documents the -PlatformLimited= parameter to disable cross-play and limit the server to one platform. It takes three values: PC allows only Steam players, Playstation only PlayStation players, and Xbox Xbox and Windows Store players.

• Admin rights: console players can't be made admin via Steam ID in Admin.ini; use -AdminPassword for them.
• Save transfer: console and Game Pass saves can't be moved to a dedicated server; a shared world must start from a Steam save or a new world.
• Community: if your team plays on different platforms, keep cross-play on; a closed Steam-only group can limit it to simplify management.

Restart the server after changing the platform setting and announce it beforehand, otherwise excluded players may think they have a connection problem. In a mixed-platform team, console players can't access server files, so share setting changes, backup times and maintenance notices in a common chat channel, and give the admin role to a PC player who can reach the server via Remote Desktop quickly.

How is an Abiotic Factor server protected against DDoS and unauthorised access?

Abiotic Factor servers are usually used by small, closed groups of friends, but any server shown in the Steam list has a public IP and can be targeted by denial-of-service attacks. On LIONFIN infrastructure traffic is filtered at network level by the RouteFence firewall, DDoS traffic is filtered before it reaches your server where possible, and everything is monitored 24/7 by our NOC and SOC (see our data center).

• Join password: set -ServerPassword for a closed team and share it only within the team.
• Admin password: keep -AdminPassword long and different from the join password.
• Only the necessary ports: keep inbound connections other than the game and query ports closed.
• Windows security: apply security updates regularly, use a strong password and IP restrictions for Remote Desktop, and give each admin a separate Windows account.

Passwords in the launch file are plain text, so restrict access to the server folder to admins. Make it a habit to change both the join and admin passwords when a team member leaves.

Does the Abiotic Factor server run on Linux?

According to the official quick-start guide, the Abiotic Factor dedicated server is currently released for Windows only; there is no official Linux build. The wiki links to a community guide for running it on Linux, but that method isn't officially supported.

• Pro: Linux needs no Windows Server licence and uses less memory for the OS.
• Con: running a Windows application on Linux needs a compatibility layer; game updates can cause unexpected problems, and file paths in the official wiki are written for Windows.

If you want a stable, low-maintenance server for a small team, we recommend Windows Server. If you are experienced with Linux and compatibility layers, the Linux route can work; test on a staging server before moving your main world and check after every game update that the server starts correctly.

How do you back up and update an Abiotic Factor server?

The main folder to back up is AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\Server\; worlds are kept under Worlds and the admin list in Admin.ini. Each world's sandbox settings sit in its own folder, so backing up the whole folder preserves the rules too.

1. Shut the server down cleanly.
2. Compress the SaveGames\Server folder into a dated archive and copy it off the server.
3. Update the server by running app_update 2857200 validate in SteamCMD.
4. Start the server, connect and check that progress is intact.

Players' Steam clients update automatically, so a server left behind is the most common cause of connection errors; always back up before big updates. On Windows you can automate the backup steps with a batch file and Task Scheduler.

What are the most common Abiotic Factor server problems?

Most Abiotic Factor server problems come from ports, parameters or save locations; the console window opened with -log -newconsole usually shows the cause.

• Not visible in the server browser: the game and query ports aren't forwarded or opened in the firewall. The official guide recommends forwarding both.
• No console window: the server is running in the background; add -log -newconsole.
• A moved world won't load: the folder is in the wrong place, or it isn't named Cascade and -WorldSaveName wasn't set.
• A console save doesn't work: PlayStation, Xbox and Game Pass saves aren't compatible with the dedicated server.
• Players see a warning: -MaxServerPlayers is above 6, meaning the officially recommended limit has been exceeded.
• A console player can't become admin: the Admin.ini method doesn't work on consoles; use -AdminPassword.
• Connection problems: the server was started with -NOSTEAM; the official wiki says not to use this parameter.

If you get stuck, open a support ticket from the customer panel with the console output attached.