Icarus Server Prospects, Saves and Your Own Prospect

A prospect is Icarus's save: the mission, the difficulty and the world, in one JSON file. A dedicated server plays one prospect at a time and keeps the rest in a folder.

Where prospects live

Each prospect is Icarus/Saved/PlayerData/DedicatedServer/Prospects/<name>.json. The file's name must be the prospect's own name (the ProspectID inside it); do not rename it or edit it, because the game then cannot load it. Back the folder up before you touch anything.

Starting a new prospect

A dedicated server cannot create a prospect on its own. Join it while no prospect is loaded and use the lobby: pick a mission, an outpost or the open world, choose the difficulty and whether respawns are disabled (hardcore), and name it. The game saves it as a file, and the Prospects tab lists it. Anyone can start a prospect by default; Anyone can start a prospect in Server Settings limits that to admins.

Which prospect the server plays

At every start the server loads one prospect. On Flux it is the one you pressed Play on in the Prospects tab, otherwise the last one played, otherwise the newest file; with none, the server waits in its lobby. Switching restarts the server, and the one being left stays exactly as it was.

How it saves

The game rewrites the prospect's file at its autosave, every 5 minutes in this image (the Autosave every setting changes it). It cannot be told to save sooner, and a stop ends it in under a second without saving, so a stop, a restart or a crash can lose up to one autosave period. Backups of every prospect are made on start and every six hours.

Tip:The Icarus server cannot be told to save. It autosaves every 5 minutes (you can change that), so a stop, a restart or a crash can lose up to one autosave period of play.

Bringing a prospect from your own game

  1. Close Icarus on your PC so the save is complete.
  2. On Windows your own prospects are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Icarus\Saved\PlayerData\<your SteamID>\Prospects.
  3. Upload the prospect's .json file in the Prospects tab. It is checked and added next to your other prospects, never over one.
  4. Press Play on it to switch the server to it.

Taking a prospect home

Download any prospect from the Prospects tab, or any backup from the Backups tab. Nothing is locked in.

Frequently asked questions

How often does an Icarus server save?

At its autosave, every 5 minutes in this image. It cannot be told to save on request, so a restart or a crash can lose up to that much.

Can I keep several prospects on one server?

Yes, one played at a time. Switch the server to another one, download any of them, or delete the ones you are done with. The others are kept exactly as they were.

Can I use a prospect from my own game?

Yes. Upload its .json file in the Prospects tab; the server adds it under the name the prospect has inside it and you press Play when you want to switch.

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