Your server follows the latest stable version of 7 Days to Die unless you tell it otherwise. The Game version card on the Server Settings tab lets you pin an older version instead, which is what overhaul mods built for an older game need. Each version keeps its own settings and its own world, so you can try one and come back without losing anything.
The versions you can pick
| Version | Who it is for |
|---|---|
| Latest stable (V3.x) | Everyone else. Follows every stable update, and the only version console players can join |
| V3.3.0 | The previous stable. Hold here if a V3 mod has not caught up with the latest update |
| V2.6 | Overhauls built on V2. The Undead Legacy download page lists its experimental 2.7.40 build for game version 2.6 |
| V1.4 | Overhauls built on V1. Host guides list Darkness Falls V6 for V1.4, though they do not all agree |
| Alpha 21.2 | The last Alpha, for classic A21 mod packs |
Overhaul mods move to new game versions on their own schedule. Before you pin, check the mod's own page for the exact game version it needs today.
These are the branches Steam keeps for the dedicated server. Steam does not keep a branch for every release: there is no V3.0, V3.1, V2.0 to V2.5, or V1.0 to V1.3 to pick. The experimental branch is not offered: TFP opens it to everyone only during experimental test windows.
Switching versions
- Open the Server Settings tab and find the Game version card.
- Stop the server. The card has a Stop button: the settings files are swapped while the server is offline.
- Pick the version and click Use this version.
- Start the server. It downloads that version from Steam while starting, which takes a few minutes. The first line we print in the console names the version, the settings file and the save folder in use.
To go back, stop the server, pick Latest stable and start it the same way.
Each version keeps its own settings and world
- Settings. The version you leave keeps its settings file, and the version you pick gets its own. The first time you pick a version, its settings start from that version's game defaults, with your server name, description, password, visibility, region and language carried over. Everything else, including gameplay, is the game's default for that version.
- The Server Settings tab shows the chosen version's settings from the moment you switch, so you can set it up before you start the server.
- World. Latest saves into
UserData/. A pinned version saves into its own folder, such asUserData-v2.6/. The first time you pick a version, it starts a new world of its own. - Coming back. Pick Latest again and your Latest world and settings are exactly as you left them.
There are two reasons for this. First, we measured that V2.6 refuses to start on a V3 settings file, because SandboxCode is an unknown option to it. Second, an older version should never open a world that a newer one saved. The separate folders make that impossible by accident.
For the same reason, the Server Settings tab will not let you add a setting from a newer version to a pinned version's file.
Moving a world between versions
Moving a world between versions is a manual copy, and it is one-way in practice:
- Take a backup on the Backups tab.
- Stop the server.
- On the Files tab or over SFTP, copy the world from one version's save folder into the other's, for example from
UserData-v3.3.0/intoUserData/. The save itself is underSaves/, and a generated world's map is underGeneratedWorlds/; copy both. - Pick the version you copied into, and start the server.
Copy forwards only, from an older version to a newer one. We have not seen any source that says an older version can open a world a newer version saved, and we do not risk it on your save. Going forwards, TFP's usual wording is that saves should be compatible, though it recommends a new game.
Your players must be on the same version
TFP's note with V3.1.0 put it plainly: "If you're playing on a dedicated server and can't connect yet, you will need to select the correct branch". A player on a different version cannot join.
- On Latest: players let Steam, or their console, update the game. After a game update, restart the server and it installs the new build.
- On a pinned version: every PC player picks the same branch for 7 Days to Die in Steam. The game has the same named branches as the server.
- Consoles: console players are always on the latest version. A pinned server is a PC-only server.
Updates on Latest
On Latest, every restart checks Steam and installs the newest stable build before the world loads, so on patch day the whole procedure is a restart. Since V3.0, TFP has shipped a stable point release roughly every three to six weeks, and has said V4.0 work continues in parallel, with no date.
One current issue to know about: TFP's V3.4.0 notes list a known issue where "Joining a dedicated server or p2p game on 3.4.0 b6 or later may transform some resource items from a client's 3.3 inventory into different items. This is a one-time indexing error." If your group is moving up from V3.3.0, expect it on each player's first join.
Related
- Mods, EasyAntiCheat and where mod files go: Mods
- Why a pin turns crossplay off: Console crossplay
- Running Darkness Falls or Undead Legacy: Overhaul mods on a dedicated server