The launch settings
| Argument | Default on Flux | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| -SteamServerName | Abiotic Factor Server | The name players see in the server list (the image refuses quotes and backslashes) |
| -ServerPassword | (none) | Join password; empty means anyone can join |
| -AdminPassword | (none) | A player who enters it in the game becomes an admin |
| -MaxServerPlayers | 6 / 12 / 24 by plan | Players at once, from 1 to 24 |
| -WorldSaveName | Cascade | The world to play; a name that has no save is made by the game |
| -PlatformLimited | (none: crossplay) | PC, Playstation or Xbox keeps the server to that platform |
| -PORT / -QUERYPORT | 7777 / 27015 | Set by the deployment on Flux: the server binds exactly the ports it is given |
Tip:The game takes the passwords on its command line, so they cannot contain spaces, quotes or backslashes. Changing any launch setting takes a restart.
The sandbox options
The sandbox options are the game's SandboxSettings.ini, one [SandboxSettings] section. On Flux they are written to a file of their own for the world being played and handed to the server with -SandboxIniPath at every start. A key you do not change is left out, so the game uses its own default. The ranges are the official wiki's, and the panel refuses a value outside them.
| Option | Default | Range | What it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| GameDifficulty | 1 | 1 to 3 | 1 to 3. How many enemies may be present in some areas, how aggressive they are and how fast they react in combat. Higher is harder. |
| HardcoreMode | off | on / off | Characters have one life and the difficulty is forced to the highest. |
| AllowIronMode | on | on / off | Only has an effect together with Hardcore mode. |
| DeathPenalties | 1 | 0 to 5 | 0 to 5. The penalties a player gets for respawning after death (or for using the Unstick option). |
| DurabilityLossOnDeathMultiplier | 0.1 | 0 to 1 | How much durability weapons and items in the inventory lose when the player respawns. 0 loses none. |
| HostAccessPlayerCorpses | on | on / off | The host can reach the items in the Death Bags players drop when they die. |
| FirstTimeStartingWeapon | 0 | 0 to 6 | 0 to 6. The weapon a player gets when they first spawn into the world. |
| EnemySpawnRate | 1 | 0.5 to 3 | How frequently enemies respawn. |
| EnemyHealthMultiplier | 1 | 0.75 to 3 | A multiplier of enemy health. |
| EnemyPlayerDamageMultiplier | 1 | 0.25 to 3 | A multiplier of how hard enemies hit players. |
| EnemyDeployableDamageMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 5 | A multiplier of how much damage enemies do to what you build and deploy. |
| DetectionSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0.1 to 3 | How fast enemies notice players. |
| EnemyAccuracy | 2 | 0 to 4 | 0 to 4. How accurate enemies are, on average. |
| ApocalypticAbilities | off | on / off | Lets every enemy use its apocalyptic abilities, even when the difficulty is not the highest. |
| MaximizeEnemySpawns | off | on / off | Every enemy spawn point is enabled, whatever the difficulty or how many players are in the world. |
| DamageToAlliesMultiplier | 0.5 | 0 to 3 | How much damage players do to each other, as a proportion of normal damage. 0 is none. |
| HungerSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How fast hunger increases. |
| ThirstSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How fast thirst increases. |
| FatigueSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How fast fatigue increases. |
| ContinenceSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How fast continence drains. |
| SinkRefillRate | 1 | 0 to 10 | Sinks passively refill over time, so players can drink from them. This is how fast. |
| FoodSpoilSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How fast food spoils. |
| RefrigerationEffectivenessMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 2 | How effective it is to refrigerate items. |
| TaintedSinkWater | off | on / off | Sink water that would be clean and drinkable is tainted instead. |
| InvisibleRadiation | off | on / off | Radiation shows no screen effect: scientists need Geiger counters to tell where it is. |
| RadiationDealsDamage | off | on / off | Radiation actively damages health. |
| DayNightCycleState | 0 | 0 to 2 | 0 to 2. 0 is the game's normal cycle; the other values switch the cycle off. |
| DayNightCycleSpeedMultiplier | 1 | 0.1 to 3 | Speed of the day and night cycle. |
| WeatherFrequency | 3 | 1 to 5 | 1 to 5. How often weather events are triggered. |
| LootRespawnEnabled | off | on / off | Resources spontaneously respawn around the Facility. |
| PowerSocketsOffAtNight | on | on / off | By default the Facility's power, power sockets included, is shut off at night. |
| HomeWorlds | on | on / off | Allows Home Worlds to be used in this world. |
| PlayerXPGainMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 3 | How fast players gain XP. |
| BonusPerkPoints | 0 | -100 to 100 | Perk points on top of those each selected job gives. |
| ItemStackSizeMultiplier | 1 | 1 to 30 | A multiplier of how many items fit in one inventory slot. |
| ItemWeightMultiplier | 1 | 0 to 5 | How heavy items are in the inventory. |
| ItemDurabilityMultiplier | 1 | 0.1 to 10 | A multiplier for item durability. |
| BaseInventorySize | 12 | 1 to 100 | The inventory size when no backpack is equipped. |
| StorageByTag | on | on / off | When off, containers are no longer restricted by the type of item they take. |
| DisableResearchMinigame | off | on / off | Unlocking a recipe unlocks it at once, with no research minigame. |
| AllowRecipeSharing | on | on / off | Players can share item recipes with each other. |
| AllowCharacterReset | on | on / off | Players can reset their jobs, skills and traits later in the game. |
| StructuralSupportLimit | 5 | 0 to 100 | 0 to 100. How much furniture and other deployables can be stacked before a limit is reached. |
| BridgeSupports | 2 | 0 to 2 | 0 to 2. Bridges need a certain amount of support by default. |
| PlayerFurnitureDestruction | off | on / off | Player-built furniture is destroyed when it reaches zero durability. |
| ShowDeathMessages | on | on / off | Players are told when someone is killed by something. |
| AllowPagers | on | on / off | Pagers can be used from the inventory and the emote wheel. |
| AllowTransmog | on | on / off | Players can make their armor look like other pieces of armor. |
Tip:These rules apply to a world as it is made. For a world that already has a save, check in game after the restart that they took effect. To be sure, prepare a new world in the Worlds tab, set its rules, and start it.
The Server Settings tab starts from presets (a relaxed crew, a base builder, a punishing one) that are only a starting point: change any field after picking one.
Frequently asked questions
Where is the Abiotic Factor SandboxSettings.ini?
The game reads it from the world's folder or from the path given with -SandboxIniPath. On Flux the panel writes it for you, one file per world, and passes that path at every start.
Do I have to restart after changing a setting?
Yes. The server reads its arguments and the sandbox file as it starts; the panel restarts it for you when you save. The restart does not save the world first: the game cannot be told to save, so what happened since its last autosave (every 5 minutes) is lost.