HumanitZ Dedicated Server Troubleshooting Guide

HumanitZ Dedicated Server Troubleshooting Guide

Running a HumanitZ dedicated server in Early Access means navigating an evolving game binary. Some issues are configuration problems; others are transient bugs fixed in the next patch. This guide covers the most common server issues that community operators encounter, with clear diagnostic steps and verified fixes for each.

Issue: Server Not Showing in the Browser

Symptoms: Server starts successfully but players can't find it in the in-game browser.

• Check query port (27015 UDP): This is the Steam master list registration port. If it's firewalled, Steam never learns the server exists

  # Linux check:
  sudo ufw allow 27015/udp
  sudo ufw allow 7777/udp
  sudo ufw allow 7777/tcp

• Router forwarding (home servers): Forward both 7777 (UDP+TCP) and 27015 (UDP) to your server's local IP. The query port is frequently forgotten.
• Wait 2–3 minutes: Newly started servers take up to 3 minutes to propagate to all Steam regional master list nodes.
• Verify bPublicServer=true in GameServerSettings.ini — private servers are intentionally hidden from the browser.

Issue: Admin Commands Not Working

Symptoms: Typing /god, /spawn or other commands in chat has no effect.

1. Confirm the AdminPassword in GameServerSettings.ini matches exactly what you type — it is case-sensitive:

   [AdminSettings]
   AdminPassword=MySecurePass123

2. Join the server and type in chat: /AdminAccess MySecurePass123 — you should see a confirmation message. Admin access is not persistent across sessions; you must re-authenticate each time you join.
3. Avoid spaces and special characters in the admin password — some characters break the command parser.
4. If /AdminAccess is accepted but commands still fail, check that your Steam account is not on the server's ban list (banlist.txt in the server root).

Issue: Loot Not Spawning

Symptoms: Buildings are consistently empty; containers never repopulate.

• Check LootAbundance in GameServerSettings.ini — if accidentally set to 0, no loot spawns at all:

  [LootSettings]
  LootAbundance=1.0   ; Must be > 0

• Verify InfiniteContainerRespawn=true — if false, containers only spawn loot once per server session.
• Check ContainerRespawnTime — if set to an extremely large value (e.g., 999999), containers appear permanently empty after initial loot.
• A world save corruption can blank the loot state — restore from a recent backup and verify the issue resolves.

Issue: Server Crash on Startup

Symptoms: Server process exits immediately or within seconds of launch.

1. Check TSS.log for the error. Common causes:
   • Port already in use — another process holds port 7777. Run ss -tulpn | grep 7777 (Linux) to find it.
   • SaveGame corrupted — delete or restore the SaveGames/ folder.
   • Failed to load config — a syntax error in GameServerSettings.ini. Restore from backup or the default template.
2. Run SteamCMD validate: +app_update 2728330 validate
3. Ensure sufficient disk space — a full disk causes Unreal Engine servers to crash silently during save operations.

Issue: Server Lag / High Ping

Symptoms: Players report rubber-banding, delayed actions, or consistently high ping.

• CPU bottleneck: Check CPU usage — sustained 90%+ means the server is underpowered for the active player/zombie count. Reduce MaxActiveZombies first.
• Autosave lag spikes: If rubber-banding is rhythmic (every 5–10 minutes exactly), the autosave is blocking the tick. Increase AutoSaveInterval to 600 seconds.
• Network bandwidth: Each player requires ~1–2 Mbps upload from the server. On a 10-player server you need at least 20 Mbps upload available exclusively for game traffic.
• Memory pressure: RAM above 90% causes the OS to swap, which causes severe lag spikes. Either reduce player count or restart the server to reclaim memory.

Issue: Players Can't Save / Progress Lost on Disconnect

Symptoms: Players rejoin and find their last 5–10 minutes of progress reverted.

• The server autosave interval may be too infrequent — set AutoSaveInterval=120 (every 2 minutes) in your config.
• If the server was killed with SIGKILL or a hard power-off, the in-memory state was not flushed. Use graceful shutdown (systemctl stop) always.
• Enable SaveOnPlayerDisconnect=true in GameServerSettings.ini to trigger a save whenever a player leaves.

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