The complete guide · 5 min read
Abiotic Factor Server Hosting Explained: A Complete Guide
This guide explains how a hosted Abiotic Factor server works, from the player limit and launch parameters to sandbox settings, moderators, moving a world and mods. It is written for the scientist who always ends up keeping the lights on for everyone else.
By Matthew Griffin, Owner, Gaming DeluxePublished · Updated
In this guide
- Why Run a Dedicated Abiotic Factor Server
- The Player Limit: 6 by Design, 24 at Most
- Launch Parameters That Shape Your Server
- Sandbox Settings and Difficulty
- Admins, Moderators and Console Players
- Moving a World onto the Server
- Mods Today and Official Mod Support
- What to Compare Before You Rent an Abiotic Factor Server
- Abiotic Factor Server Glossary
- Abiotic Factor Server Help and Next Steps
Why Run a Dedicated Abiotic Factor Server
Abiotic Factor is a survival crafting game for 1 to 6 players set deep inside a sprawling underground research facility. In a normal co-op game one player hosts, and the world only exists while that player is in it. If the host is busy, the whole team waits; if the host's connection struggles, everyone feels it.
A dedicated server separates the world from any one player. Deep Field Games publishes the Abiotic Factor Dedicated Server as a free Steam tool, and its own documentation covers how to run it. Hosting it with us means the facility is online all day and night, the server has a fixed address and data-centre bandwidth, and settings are a panel edit away. Teammates in different time zones can work on the base, research and scavenging runs whenever they are free.
The Player Limit: 6 by Design, 24 at Most
The Steam store page describes Abiotic Factor as a game for 1 to 6 players, and that is the team size it is balanced around. The dedicated server is more flexible. Its MaxServerPlayers launch parameter accepts any value from 1 to 24, but the developer's documentation says values above 6 are not recommended, and players get a warning popup before they join a server set that high.
| Team size | Plan | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 4 | 4 Slots | Comfortable, the cheapest way to keep a world online |
| 5 or 6 | 8 Slots | The full designed team, with spare seats for guests |
| 7 to 12 | 12 Slots | Works, but beyond what the game is balanced for |
| 13 to 24 | 18 or 24 Slots | For communities that accept the warning and the extra load |
Slots set the most people who can be online at the same time, not the size of the team overall. A group of ten who rarely all play together is often happy on an 8 slot plan.
Launch Parameters That Shape Your Server
Most of the server's identity lives in its launch parameters. In our panel you change them in the Commandline Manager rather than in RunServer.bat.
| Parameter | What it does |
|---|---|
| -SteamServerName | The name shown in the server browser |
| -ServerPassword | The password players need to join |
| -AdminPassword | Grants in-game admin access to whoever enters it |
| -MaxServerPlayers | How many players can be online, from 1 to 24 |
| -WorldSaveName | Which world folder to load, Cascade by default |
| -PlatformLimited | Limits joining to PC, PlayStation or Xbox players |
| -PORT and -QUERYPORT | The game port and the Steam query port |
Sandbox Settings and Difficulty
Each world on the server gets its own SandboxSettings.ini in its save folder. It holds the options you would see when creating a custom world, split into world, enemy and player sections. A few that groups change most often:
- GameDifficulty sets the overall challenge.
- EnemySpawnRate makes the facility busier or quieter.
- HungerSpeedMultiplier controls how fast everyone needs food.
- PlayerXPGainMultiplier speeds up or slows down skill progress.
- DeathPenalties and HardcoreMode decide how much a death costs.
Stop the server before editing the file, save your changes and start it again. If you run more than one world, make sure you are editing the file inside the world you actually load.
Admins, Moderators and Console Players
There are two ways to give someone power over the server. The first is the admin password: anyone who enters it in game gets admin access. The second is Admin.ini, in the server's SaveGames folder, where you list moderators by Steam ID.
- Open Admin.ini through Configuration Files or the File Manager.
- Under the [Moderators] heading, add one line per person: Moderator= followed by their Steam ID.
- Restart the server so the list is read again.
Steam IDs only identify Steam players. Deep Field Games notes that this kind of list does not work for Xbox or PlayStation players, so for them the admin password is the recommended route. Keep that password to people you trust, and change it if it leaks.
Moving a World onto the Server
A world you started on your own PC can carry on on the server. The developer's migration guide describes it, and it only takes a few minutes.
- On your PC, open %LocalAppData%\AbioticFactor\Saved\SaveGames\, then your Steam ID folder and Worlds.
- Copy the folder of the world you want to keep.
- Stop the server and upload the folder into the server's SaveGames\Server\Worlds folder with the File Manager or SFTP.
- Rename it to Cascade, or set WorldSaveName to the folder's name.
- Start the server and join.
Mods Today and Official Mod Support
Right now Abiotic Factor mods are community made and come in two kinds. PAK mods are content files you upload to the Paks folder. UE4SS mods are scripts that need the UE4SS loader on the server, which our Mod Manager installs, and usually on each player's PC as well.
Deep Field Games has announced an official Modding Update with mod.io support, an in-game mod browser and automatic downloads when players join a modded server. It has no date yet, and the developer expects many existing mods to stop working when it lands, so plan for a clean-up when it arrives. Until then, the safest routine is the same as with any patch: back up, update the mods together with the server, and add mods one at a time.
What to Compare Before You Rent an Abiotic Factor Server
Most Abiotic Factor hosting offers look alike on paper. These are the details that decide how the server behaves once your team is deep in the facility.
- Honest player countsThe game is built for 6. A host advertising more slots should explain the MaxServerPlayers limit and the warning players will see.
- RAM included in the priceCheck how much memory the base price includes, and what the next tier costs, before you compare monthly prices.
- Access to the ini filesSandboxSettings.ini and Admin.ini are where the real control lives. Make sure you can edit them yourself.
- World uploadsMoving a Steam save should be a file upload, not a support ticket.
- Backups you can restoreAsk whether you can roll back without help, and how many days of offsite copies are kept.
- Mod toolsA one-click UE4SS install and SFTP access save time once your mod list grows.
Abiotic Factor Server Glossary
- Dedicated server
- The standalone Abiotic Factor server program, which runs the world without a player hosting it.
- MaxServerPlayers
- The launch parameter that sets the player limit, from 1 to 24.
- WorldSaveName
- The launch parameter naming the world folder the server loads, Cascade by default.
- SandboxSettings.ini
- The per-world file holding difficulty, spawn, hunger, XP and death penalty settings.
- Admin.ini
- The file listing moderators by Steam ID.
- PlatformLimited
- A launch option that restricts a server to PC, PlayStation or Xbox players.
- PAK mod
- A mod made of .pak, .utoc and .ucas files, uploaded to the Paks folder.
- UE4SS
- A script loader that some Abiotic Factor mods depend on.
- Slots
- How many players can be online on the server at the same time.
Abiotic Factor Server Help and Next Steps
Useful pages for setting up and running your facility.
- Abiotic Factor Dedicated Server wiki, Deep Field GamesLaunch parameters, sandbox options and save migration from the developer.
- Install mods on your Abiotic Factor serverOur knowledge base guide to PAK and UE4SS mods.
- Abiotic Factor on SteamNews, patch notes and the roadmap.
- Gaming Deluxe control panelWhat the panel does and how to log in.
- Contact support24/7 help with setup, worlds and mods.
How this guide was made: researched from Deep Field Games' dedicated server documentation and the official Steam store page and news, drafted with AI assistance, checked against our live order form for every plan, price and location, and reviewed by Matthew Griffin before publishing. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
