How to set up a Frozen Flame dedicated server

A Frozen Flame dedicated server offers the most freedom when designing your mul­ti­play­er ad­ven­tures in Arcana. All you need is the right hardware setup for in­stal­la­tion and setup, Windows or Linux, and the command line client SteamCMD.

Frozen Flame dedicated server on your own PC or with a provider?

You can set up and run the Frozen Flame dedicated server ap­pli­ca­tion on your private computer. However, your PC must have decent computing power, es­pe­cial­ly if you want to connect to the hosted game world. The crucial dis­ad­van­tage of hosting on your PC is that as soon as you shut down your computer or quit the ap­pli­ca­tion, the server will au­to­mat­i­cal­ly go offline. You also need a powerful and stable internet con­nec­tion, which is not always possible with private con­nec­tions.

Al­ter­na­tive­ly, you could opt for server hardware from a pro­fes­sion­al provider. This guar­an­tees good broadband per­for­mance and the option to run the Frozen Flame dedicated server day and night.

What are the system re­quire­ments for a Frozen Flame server?

The hardware setup required for your own Frozen Flame dedicated server depends on several factors. The main factor is the number of players using the server at the same time. For example, you will need less power for smaller, shared PvE ad­ven­tures (Campaign mode) than for a busy survival server in Cataclysm mode, which may have PvP enabled.

The following are the minimum re­quire­ments needed for a Frozen Flame server to run smoothly:

• Processor: Intel Dual-Core from 2.4 GHz or AMD Dual-Core from 2.4 GHz
• Working memory: 2-4 GB RAM
• Hard disk space: 5-10 GB

These Frozen Flame dedicated server software re­quire­ments must be added to the un­der­ly­ing system re­quire­ments. You have the choice between Linux dis­tri­b­u­tions, such as Ubuntu or Debian, and the Microsoft server operating systems. For example, if you choose Windows Server 2022, the following hardware re­quire­ments must be added:

• 1.4 GHz processor (64-bit)
• 512 MB (without graphical user interface) or 2 GB RAM (with graphical user interface)
• 32 GB (without graphical user interface) or 36 GB hard disk space (with graphical user interface)

Host your Frozen Flame dedicated server with IONOS

Hosting your game server with a pro­fes­sion­al provider will ensure suf­fi­cient computing power and smooth operation, thanks to the top broadband con­nec­tion available. The challenge is finding the right provider and the right plan.

IONOS server models

There are three different server models available from IONOS to host your Frozen Flame dedicated server. Each has a different plan, which differs in per­for­mance and price. You can rely on a server broadband con­nec­tion of over 360 Gbit/s.

• vServer (VPS): The vServer or VPS (Virtual Private Server) from IONOS allows you to access vir­tu­al­ized hardware per­for­mance from a fixed host system. The service plan is clearly laid out and available for a fixed monthly price.
• Cloud server: The cloud server from IONOS allows the hardware resources to be vir­tu­al­ized, but they do not nec­es­sar­i­ly come from a fixed host system. Cloud servers can be scaled at any time, and you only pay for the per­for­mance used.
• Dedicated server: The dedicated server from IONOS reserves dedicated hardware ex­clu­sive­ly for you. The com­po­nents are par­tic­u­lar­ly powerful, and the computing power used is billed by the minute.

3 Frozen Flame Server scenarios and the cor­re­spond­ing IONOS plans

The type of server and how much per­for­mance you need depends on how you use your Frozen Flame dedicated server. The rule of thumb is that the more users that are online at the same time, the more RAM and CPU is required for un­in­ter­rupt­ed gameplay. We have compiled three typical usage scenarios and suggested the suitable server options from IONOS to make your choice easier.

Frozen Flame dedicated server in­stal­la­tion guide

The following tutorial details how to install, configure and make a dedicated server publicly available for Frozen Flame. We outline the steps for IONOS customers (vServer, Cloud Server, Dedicated Server) and the Windows Server 2022 operating system.

Step 1: Connect to the rented server remotely

You need a stable remote con­nec­tion to install and set up a Frozen Flame dedicated server on the rented hardware. You can establish the con­nec­tion to Windows Server 2022 using the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which is enabled by default in Microsoft systems. IONOS customers can set up a con­nec­tion directly in the online customer center (Cloud Panel):

1. Open the IONOS customer center login page in the browser and log in with your login data.
2. Select the “Server & Cloud” category.
3. Click the plan you have rented for hosting your Frozen Flame dedicated server.
4. Press the download link next to “Remote Desktop Con­nec­tion” (under “Login data”).
5. Run the down­loaded .rdp file and confirm the remote setup by clicking “Connect”.
6. Enter the server’s login data, which can also be found under “Login data” in the Cloud Panel.
7. Confirm the IONOS server’s security cer­tifi­cate.

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Step 2: Install command line client SteamCMD

The best way to download and install Frozen Flame’s dedicated server is through SteamCMD. You can connect directly to the gaming platform’s public download servers using the command line client. Install the program as follows:

1. Download SteamCMD using the this download link.
2. Unzip the ZIP file to any folder on your server.
3. Run the file steamcmd.exe by double-clicking on it.
4. The Steam input line Steam> will appear once the in­stal­la­tion is complete.

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Step 3: Install the Frozen Flame dedicated server

You can now download and install the Frozen Flame server software using SteamCMD. Start with the anonymous login to the public Steam servers:

login anonymous

Then create an in­stal­la­tion folder for the server files:

force_install_dir C:\frozen-flame-dedicated-server

In the last step, you can combine the app_update command with the app ID 1348640, the ID of the Frozen Flame dedicated server software, to download and install the ap­pli­ca­tion in the folder.

app_update 1348640 validate

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Step 4: Release ports for server com­mu­ni­ca­tion

For your Frozen Flame dedicated server to be available online and receive and process requests from Steam, you need to release various ports in your rented server’s firewall settings. These are TCP/UDP port 7777 as a general server port and TCP port 25575 and UDP port 27015 for com­mu­ni­ca­tion with the Steam platform.

Open the ports in the IONOS Cloud Panel as follows:

1. Open “Server & Cloud”.
2. Select the hardware where you have installed the Frozen Flame dedicated server.
3. Click “Network” in the left side menu and then select “Firewall Policies”.
4. Create the rules for the in­di­vid­ual ports under “Incoming”.

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Step 5: Create Game.ini con­fig­u­ra­tion file

The Game.ini file is the main con­fig­u­ra­tion file for a Frozen Flame dedicated server. However, this is not created au­to­mat­i­cal­ly, so you must create it yourself. Open the server folder and create a new file with the name Game.ini in the subfolder .\FrozenFlame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer. The in­di­vid­ual folders in this folder must also be created manually.

Once you have created the file, you can insert and save the following lines for a simple default con­fig­u­ra­tion:

[/Script/Engine.GameSession]
MaxPlayers=10
[/Script/FrozenFlame.FGameSession]
ServerPassword="Password"
[/Script/FrozenFlame.GameBalance]
bFreePVP=True; Enable PVP for non-friends
DurationOfDay=3600; How long a day lasts
HealthRateAfterRespawn=0.5; Health after death
bRestoreHealthOnLevelUp=True; Restore health on level up
JumpStaminaCost=6; Stamina cost at jumping
SprintStaminaCost=1; Stamina cost at sprinting
ArmorDurabilityReducementAfterDeath=25; Loss of armor durability after death
DefaultWeaponDurabilityCost=0.5; Weapon durability loss speed
HalfSlowdownOverweightRatio=1; Overweight - disable sprint for player after that % (200/100% by default)
FullSlowdownOverweightRatio=1.5; Overweight - disable even run and getting new items after that % (300/150% by default)
bIsAllowedToTeleportWithOverweight=False; Allow to teleport with overweight
bIsAllowedToGlideWithOverweight=False; Allow to fly with overweight
MinimalLevelToDropItemAfterDeath=0; Drop items only after that player level (if enabled)
bDropEquippedItems=False; Drop equipped items after death
bDropEquipableItems=False; Drop equipable items after death
bDropFoodItems=False; Drop food on death
LevelUpFlameRate=1; Flame rate required for level Up multiplier
MonstersHealthMultiplier=1; Monsters health multiplier
MonstersDamageMultiplier=1; Monsters damage multiplier
bNoModuleCost=False; Building without material costs
bLimitlessSupport=False; Building without restrictions
bInvulnerableModules=False; Bulding without decay
bDemolishResourceDropMultiplier=0.5; How many resources to return after module destroy
bIgnoreDifficulty=False; Ignore difficulty settings (for local coop only)
DecayThreshold=0; A minimum durability that keeps after weather decay system damage
bOnlyOneSentinelAllowed=True; Allow to build only a single sentinel
;SentinelRadiusMultiplier=1.0; Sentinel protection radius multiplier
bRequireActiveSentinelForBuildingMode=False; Allow to build only inside active sentinel radius
bDisallowToDestroyModulesWithoutOwnership=True; Disable descrution hammer tool
bAllowCreaturesToDamageBuildings=False
bAllowPlayersToDamageBuildings=True
;bDisableItemRequirements=True; disable attribute requirements for item equip/usage
[/Script/FrozenFlame.DefaultsOverTimeEffect]
bDisableOverweight=False; Disable overweight system
[/Game/FrozenFlame/DataTables/Variables/BP_GameBalance_Base.BP_GameBalance_Base_C]
bApplyRestrictionsInsideEnergyBarriers=True; Fly and some buildings restrictions inside energy barriers
[/Script/FrozenFlame.RecipeDiscoveryComponent]
;RecipeVisibilityOverride=(("StructureItem_Sentinel", False)); Disable some recipes

Insert a password in the ServerPassword line and adjust the con­fig­u­ra­tion options as you wish.

Step 6: Create con­fig­u­ra­tion files for the game mode

You can choose the default Campaign mode or the faster paced Survival mode “Cataclysm” for your Frozen Flame dedicated server. However, the con­fig­u­ra­tion files will be missing after in­stalling the server files for these modes. They must be manually created in the .\FrozenFlame\Saved\Config\WindowsServer subfolder.

For campaign mode, create the Heaven­Nor­mal.ini file and add the following content:

[/Script/FrozenFlame.GameBalance]
bSkipTutorial=False;
HealthRateAfterRespawn=0.5; Health after death
bRestoreHealthOnLevelUp=True; Restore health on level up
DefaultWeaponDurabilityCost=0.5; Weapon durability loss speed
ArmorDurabilityReducementAfterDeath=25; Loss of armor durability after death
bDropEquippedItems=False; Drop equipped items after death
bDropEquipableItems=True; Drop equipable items after death
bDropFoodItems=True; Drop food on death
DemolishResourceDropMultiplier=0.5; How many resources to return after module destroy
DecayThreshold=0; A minimum durability that keeps after weather decay system damage

If you want to play Cataclysm im­me­di­ate­ly, create the GameM­o­d­eSur­vive.ini file with the following content:

[/Script/FrozenFlame.GameBalance]
bSkipTutorial=False;
HealthRateAfterRespawn=0.5; Health after death
bRestoreHealthOnLevelUp=True; Restore health on level up
DefaultWeaponDurabilityCost=0.5; Weapon durability loss speed
ArmorDurabilityReducementAfterDeath=25; Loss of armor durability after death
bDropEquippedItems=False; Drop equipped items after death
bDropEquipableItems=True; Drop equipable items after death
bDropFoodItems=True; Drop food on death
DemolishResourceDropMultiplier=0.5; How many resources to return after module destroy
DecayThreshold=0; A minimum durability that keeps after weather decay system damage

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Step 7: Create startup script for Frozen Flame dedicated server

You only need a suitable batch script to start the server. This should be in the same folder as the Frozen­Flame­Serv­er.exe. Create a new file in the main folder .\Frozen Flame Dedicated Server and call the file Start.bat.

Open the file with an editor of your choice and paste the following content:

frozenflameServer.exe -log -ip=123.456.789.0 -port=7777 -QueryPort=25575 -SteamServerName="Frozen Flame Server by IONOS"

Enter your server’s IP and specify your Frozen Flame server’s name inside the quotation marks after SteamServerName=.

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Step 8: Start Frozen Flame dedicated server

Once you have created and saved the script, you can start your server with the con­fig­ured settings. Simply open the batch file by double-clicking on it. The command prompt opens, and the script’s commands are executed. You can check the server’s startup process in another window of the command prompt.

Step 9: Connect to the server

You and your comrades-in-arms can connect to the server at any time. You just need to start Frozen Flame and proceed as follows:

1. Click on “Play”.
2. Select the “Private Server” option.
3. Press “Add” or the [F] key and enter your server’s IP address. Place a colon in front of the server port 7777.
4. Confirm the server by pressing Enter and click “Connect” or the [E] key to connect to the Frozen Flame dedicated server.

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Once the con­nec­tion is es­tab­lished, you can finally embark on online ad­ven­tures together.

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