Subsistence Server Hosting

What a Dedicated Subsistence Server Gives Your Group

Subsistence is a survival game about the long haul. You hunt and harvest wild animals, farm, raise livestock, mine and refine ores, and build a base that needs power before its machines will work. Seasons and weather change what you can do, and hunger, thirst and strength never stop ticking. Progress is measured in weeks, not evenings.

That makes a shared world awkward to run from one player's PC. If the host is offline, nobody else can tend the farm or repair the walls. A dedicated server keeps the world available to everyone with access, so the group can play on their own schedules and still share one map, one economy and one set of enemies.

Hunters, Bases and Why the World Matters

The AI hunters are what make Subsistence different. They build bases of their own and come after yours, and Alpha 66 in September 2025 made them far more dangerous: they shoot on the move, strafe, use cover and act as a squad. Alpha 67 then fixed several exploits that let players into hunter bases in ways the developer did not intend.

Because the world keeps a record of every wall and generator, a server's character builds up over time. Large bases, power networks and Alpha 60's Vehicle Construction Bay, where the ATV is built, all live in the save. Treat that save like the valuable thing it is: back it up before updates and before you try new rules.

PvE or PvP: Setting the Rules

The Steam page describes Subsistence as a single-player and co-op PvE sandbox, but dedicated servers give you PvP switches as well. Since Alpha 54 these rules are shown in the server list, so players know what kind of world they are joining before they spawn.

Choosing Slots and RAM

When dedicated servers launched in Alpha 54, ColdGames set the maximum at 32 players and said the number might change after testing. Our plans run from 10 to 32, with slots sold one at a time in between, so pick the size of your real group plus a little room for friends who join later.

Memory follows the world more than the player list. Each active player tends to mean another base with its own buildables, storage and power, and hunters build bases too. That is why the RAM steps up from 5GB on 10 slots to 12GB on 32. The 64-bit move in Alpha 57 removed the old 32-bit memory ceiling and the out of memory crashes that came with it, so extra RAM is genuinely usable if your world grows.

Running Mods After Alpha 68

Alpha 68 brought an in-game Mod Manager and Steam Workshop publishing. Mods can change recipes, crafting lists, loot tables, hunter damage and loot, weapon durability, power output, building health and food nutrition, among much else. On a dedicated server, everything runs through one parameter.

1. Stop the server from the panel.
2. For a Workshop mod, copy its Workshop ID. For a local mod, upload its folder to the same path on the server and copy the uuid from its mod.json.
3. Add the IDs and uuids to the Mods line in UDKDedServerSettings.ini, separated by commas, in the order you want them to take priority.
4. Start the server. It downloads Workshop mods on the first run.
5. Join and check: players are asked to subscribe to Workshop mods, and receive local mods from the server.

Two side effects are worth telling your players about: achievements are disabled while mods are active, and a Modded badge appears in the inventory. Remove the mods and achievements count again.

Admin Tools: Passwords, Kicks and Bans

Admin rights come from the AdminPassword in the server config. Once logged in, an admin shows an icon in the player list, can kick or kick and ban from the stats screen, and can unban from the banned players tab. Bans apply across every profile the server hosts.

There is also an unbound key that deletes the buildable an admin is looking at, which is handy for clearing griefed structures, and a set of console commands that typing help will list. Keep the password to a small group and change it if someone leaves.

Updates, Saves and Backups in Early Access

Subsistence has been in Early Access since 25 October 2016, and the Steam page says it will stay there until the developer is confident it has enough content and depth. Updates arrive as numbered Alphas, and they are not small: Alpha 67 changed the engine underneath the game, and Alpha 68 added mods, a large optimisation pass and new building placement rules.

Our routine for a healthy world: take a snapshot, run Steam Update in the panel, restart, then join and look around before inviting everyone back. We also keep offsite backups of the last 7 days, restorable from the panel. When an update needs settings you prefer the old way, check the notes: Alpha 68, for instance, added a server option to keep the previous building placement behaviour.

What to Compare Before You Rent a Subsistence Server

Survival worlds are long projects. These are the details that decide whether yours survives month three.

1. RAM that grows with the planMore players means more bases. Check how much memory the bigger plans include, not just the smallest.
2. Access to the settings filePvP rules, decay and mods all live in UDKDedServerSettings.ini. You need to be able to edit it yourself.
3. Restorable backupsEarly Access updates change things. Make sure you can roll back without waiting on a ticket.
4. Prompt updatesPlayers cannot use a server that lags behind their game version. Look for one-click updates.
5. Locations you can testRun a ping test before you buy, and pick a location close to most of the group.
6. Billing termsCompare monthly and longer cycles, and check for setup fees and minimum terms.

Subsistence Server Glossary

Hunters

AI enemies who build bases of their own and raid players; their combat AI was overhauled in Alpha 66.

BCU

The Base Command Unit at the heart of a base. Items such as water tanks are crafted from it and need to sit within its radius for power, and a BCU Cracker destroys a hunter BCU.

Base decay

The slow loss of an absent player's base, set by NumPlayerOfflineHoursBeforeBaseDecay.

UDKDedServerSettings.ini

The dedicated server's settings file, holding decay, PvP options and the Mods list.

Mods line

The Mods parameter that lists Workshop IDs and local mod uuids for a server to load.

uuid

The unique ID in a local mod's mod.json, used to load an unpublished mod on a server.

Hardcore death penalty

The dedicated server rule that dropped kit lasts two minutes with no HUD beacon.

Verified server

A server flagged through the developer's backend; verified servers appear at the top of the list.

Subsistence Server Help and Next Steps

Useful pages for setting up and running your world.

• Alpha 68 Update - Mod SupportThe developer's notes on mods and dedicated servers.
• Alpha 54 Update: Dedicated ServersPvP options, decay, admin tools and the 32 player cap.
• Subsistence Steam WorkshopPublished mods to add to your server.
• Gaming Deluxe control panelWhat the panel does and how to log in.
• Our server locations
• Contact support24/7 help with settings, mods and moving worlds.